Air Senegal
IATA ICAO Callsign
HC SZN SENSA
Founded2016
Commenced operations14 May 2018
HubsBlaise Diagne International Airport
Fleet size9
Destinations22[1]
HeadquartersDakar, Senegal
Key people
  • Ibrahima Kane (CEO)
  • Ousmane Pouye (COO)
  • Babakar Danfakha (CFO)
Websiteflyairsenegal.com

Air Senegal (IATA: HC, ICAO: SZN) is the flag carrier of the Republic of Senegal. Created in 2016, it is state owned through investment arm Caisse des Dépots et Consignation du Sénégal. It is based at Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, Senegal.[2]

History

The airline was created in 2016 to replace bankrupt carrier Senegal Airlines, which was under liquidation. The new national airline is part of a large, 20-year horizon investment plan referred to as Plan Sénégal Émergent (PSE) initiated by President Macky Sall. Air Senegal aims to be the leader in West African air transport.[3] The airline is headed by Philippe Bohn, a former vice president of Airbus.[4] It is advised by the financial advisory conglomerate Lazard.[5][6]

On 29 April 2018, the airline received its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC),[7] and commenced domestic flights on 14 May 2018 with a fleet of two brand new ATR72-600s. In the fourth quarter of 2018, it leased two Airbus A319s from Lessors Avolon and Apollo and started deploying to several regional destinations. The airline added a third A319 jet in June 2019 to serve regional destinations, including Abidjan, Cotonou and Conakry.[8]

The airline ordered two long-haul wide-body Airbus A330-900s in November 2017 at the Dubai Air Show.[9] It became the first African acquirer of this new type of aircraft.[10] The first plane arrived in January 2019 after a delivery flight from Toulouse and launched the daily Dakar–Paris route.[11][12]

In November 2019, at the 2019 Dubai Air Show, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed for 8 Airbus A220-300 regional jets, the airline's largest order so far.[13] According to CEO Ibrahima Kane, "[They] will contribute to develop our long haul network to Europe and our regional network in Africa", with routes to London, Geneva and Lagos expected to be launched.[14] The first A220 is expected to be delivered in 2021, and upon delivery Air Senegal will become the third African airline to operate the Airbus A220 after Air Tanzania and EgyptAir, and the first airline in West Africa to operate them.

The end of 2019 saw big expansion for the carrier. In mid-November the airline strengthened its domestic links with a new route to Cap Skirring using its ATR 72-600s, its second domestic route after Ziguinchor.[15] There was also expansion in the long haul sector with the arrival of a 2nd A330-900, which enabled the airline to begin flights to Marseille and Barcelona, the airline's first destination in Spain.[16][17] The addition of 2 Boeing 737-500s on lease from Romanian airline Blue Air allowed Air Senegal to launch new routes to multiple countries in Western Africa, including Casablanca in Morocco, Ghana's capital city Accra, in addition to Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria.[18][19]

Expansion was abruptly halted in March 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing Air Senegal to temporarily suspend operations.[20] At the time, the airline was poised to commence flights to a pair of new European destinations - Geneva and London.[21] No update has been provided yet on when these routes will be commenced, though in a May 2021 interview it was hinted by Ibrahima Kane that they could be seen with the arrival of the Airbus A220s that the airline is due to receive in 2021.[22] At the end of 2020 Air Senegal received its first Airbus A321, with a second arriving in February 2021. These 2 aircraft helped launch new routes again, this time to Milan in Italy, the airline's first Italian route, as well as Lyon in southern France. These routes began in February and March respectively.[23][24] April saw the end of the lease on the 737-500s, with the second aircraft, YR-AMD, being returned to Blue Air where it has been parked at the carrier's base in Bucharest.[25]

A significant step in the airline's growth came with the announcement of its plans to fly to the United States for the first time from September 2021. For thirteen months afterwards, the airline served New York directly with the Airbus A330-900, before making the short hop to the Washington D.C./Baltimore metropolitan area.[26] The route was operated twice weekly.[26] In January 2023, the airline canceled the Baltimore stop,[27] and currently flies from Dakar to New York City and back.

Corporate affairs

Business figures

Air Senegal does not make financial data available to the public. However, figures have been made available via press reports, interviews and other publications from time to time.[28] The airline received a bailout of €68 million from the Government of Senegal in 2020 to cover its losses.[28][29]

2018 2019 2020
Turnover (€ million) 75.00 18.75
Net profit / loss (€) loss (30.00) (68.00)
Number of passengers 495,000
Number of aircraft (at year end) 3 6 7

Associations and memberships

In September 2019, Air Senegal was admitted as a member of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).[30]

Destinations

As of November 2023, the airline serves 17 countries and 29 routes.[1][31]

As of April 2021, Air Senegal operated to the following destinations:[32]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
BeninCotonouCadjehoun Airport[33]
Burkina FasoOuagadougouThomas Sankara International AirportSuspended
CameroonDoualaDouala International Airport
Cape VerdePraiaNelson Mandela International Airport[33]
SalAmílcar Cabral International AirportTerminated[34]
Côte d'IvoireAbidjanFélix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport[33]
FranceLyonLyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport[35]
MarseilleMarseille Provence Airport[36]
ParisCharles de Gaulle Airport[37]
GabonLibrevilleLeon M'Ba International Airport
GambiaBanjulBanjul International Airport
GuineaConakryConakry International Airport
Guinea-BissauBissauOsvaldo Vieira International Airport[33]
ItalyMilanMilan Malpensa Airport[38]
MaliBamakoBamako–Sénou International Airport
MauritaniaNouakchottNouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport[39]
MoroccoCasablancaMohammed V International Airport
NigerNiameyDiori Hamani International AirportSuspended[40]
NigeriaAbujaNnamdi Azikiwe International AirportSuspended[39]
LagosMurtala Muhammed International AirportSuspended[39]
SenegalCap SkirringCap Skirring Airport[41]
DakarBlaise Diagne International AirportHub[33]
ZiguinchorZiguinchor Airport
Sierra LeoneFreetownFreetown International Airport
SpainBarcelonaJosep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport[36]
United StatesBaltimoreBaltimore/Washington International AirportTerminated[26][42]
New York CityJohn F. Kennedy International Airport[26]

Fleet

Air Senegal Airbus A330-900

As of April 2022, Air Senegal operates the following aircraft:[43][44]

Air Senegal fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
C P Y Total
Airbus A220-300 1 — 8 — 125 133
Airbus A319-100 2 — 12 — 108 120
Airbus A321-200 2 — 16 — 149 165[45]
Airbus A330-900Neo 2 — 32 21 237 290 One operated by Airhub Airlines
ATR 72-600 2 — — — 70 70
Total 9 0

References

  1. 1 2 "Air Sénégal on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Jose Antonio Payet (21 September 2019). "Air Senegal Plans to Launch U.S. Flights". Airlinegeeks.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  3. ↑ Air Senegal (2018). "The Air Senegal Experience". Dakar: Air Senegal. Archived from the original (Translated from the original French) on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  4. ↑ Eutou Xalima (14 August 2017). "Who is Philippe Bohn, the new French DG of Air Sénégal SA?" (Translated from the original French). Atlanta, Georgia, United States: Xalima.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  5. ↑ La Lettre A (11 June 2019). "The Lazard Frères Bank Accompanies The Air Senegal Fundraiser" (Translated from the original French). La Lettre A. Paris. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  6. ↑ African Intelligence (24 July 2019). "Lazard To Launch Air Senegal Share Offer" (West Africa Newsletter). Paris, France: African Intelligence. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  7. ↑ Martin Rivers (30 April 2018). "Newly Certified Air Senegal To Launch Flights In May, Adding A319s". Forbes.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  8. ↑ African Aerospace (7 June 2019). "A New A319 For Air Senegal" (Route Planning & Tourism). Rochford, Essex, United Kingdom: African Aerospace. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  9. ↑ David Kaminski-Morrow (16 November 2017). "Dubai: Air Senegal Signs For A330neo". Sutton, London, United Kingdom: FlightGlobal. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  10. ↑ Airbus SE (2 February 2018). "Air Sénégal Confirms Its Order For Two A330neo Aircraft". Airbus SE. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  11. ↑ Ben Lucky (25 September 2018). "Air Senegal Will Start Flying To Paris With A330neos". Onemileatatime.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  12. ↑ Martin Rivers (26 September 2018). "Air Senegal To Launch Paris Flights On February 1st, 2019". Forbes.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  13. ↑ "Air Senegal to grow its fleet with eight Airbus A220s". Airbus SE. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  14. ↑ Nicholas Cummins (19 November 2019). "Air Senegal Orders 8 Airbus A220s at Dubai Air Show". simpleflying.com. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  15. ↑ Jim Liu (5 November 2019). "Air Senegal adds Cap Skirring service from mid-Nov 2019". routesonline.com. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  16. ↑ "Air Sénégal reçoit son deuxième Airbus A330neo". Air&Cosmos. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  17. ↑ Jim Liu (2 October 2019). "Air Senegal schedules Barcelona / Marseille launch in Dec 2019". routesonline.com. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  18. ↑ "Romania's Blue Air wet-leases B737-500 to Air Sénégal". ch-aviation. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  19. ↑ Jim Liu (16 October 2019). "Air Senegal continues Africa network expansion in W19". routesonline.com. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  20. ↑ "Air Senegal network informations". Air Senegal. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  21. ↑ Martin Tietz (1 March 2020). "Air Senegal Increases European Network". aeronauticsonline.com. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  22. ↑ "Air Sénégal : Avec nos prochains A220 nous allons offrir le même niveau de confort que sur les A330n". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  23. ↑ "Air Sénégal inducts first A321". ch-aviation. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  24. ↑ "Air Senegal to begin Lyon flights from March 28". logupdateafrica.com. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  25. ↑ Jake Hardiman (1 May 2021). "What Happened To Blue Air's Retired Boeing 737 Classic Aircraft?". simpleflying.com. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "Air Senegal USA Operations Update". 25 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  27. ↑ "Air Senegal Closes Baltimore/Washington Bookings From late-Jan 2023". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  28. 1 2 "Boostée par Macky Sall, Air Sénégal muscle sa flotte et lorgne les États-Unis" (in French). Jeune Afrique. 26 January 2021.
  29. ↑ Sean Mendis (1 April 2022). "A flag, an Anthem and an Airline". Voyages Afrique.
  30. ↑ Logistic Update Africa Correspondent (6 September 2019). "AFRAA Receives Safarilink, Air Djibouti, Air Senegal, Uganda Airlines As Members". New Bombay, India: Logistic Update Africa. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  31. ↑ "Air Senegal Flights and Destinations - FlightConnections". www.flightconnections.com. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  32. ↑ "Air Senegal: Buy Tickets". Air Senegal. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 Liu, Jim (26 September 2018). "Air Senegal Outlines Proposed Regional Network From Late September 2018". routesonline.com.
  34. ↑ Liu, Jim (10 October 2019). "Air Senegal Cabo Verde serivce [sic] changes from late-Oct 2019". routesonline.com.
  35. ↑ "Air Senegal announces Lyon – where could be next?". anna.aero. 6 January 2021.
  36. 1 2 Jim Liu (2 October 2019). "Air Senegal Schedules Barcelona/Marseille Launch In December 2019". routesonline.com.
  37. ↑ Liu, Jim (25 September 2018). "Air Senegal Plans Paris Launch In February 2019". routesonline.com.
  38. ↑ "Air Senegal updates Milan schedule from mid-Sep 2020".
  39. 1 2 3 "Air Senegal continues Africa network expansion in W19". routesonline.com. 16 October 2019.
  40. ↑ Jim Liu (9 July 2019). "Air Senegal Schedules New Routes In 3Q19". routesonline.com.
  41. ↑ Liu, Jim (5 November 2019). "Air Senegal adds Cap Skirring service from mid-Nov 2019". routesonline.com.
  42. ↑ "Air Senegal suspends Dakar to Baltimore Washington Airport flights". Simply Flying. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  43. ↑ "The Fleet of Air Senegal". flyairsenegal.com. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  44. ↑ "Air Senegal Fleet Details and History".
  45. ↑ Liu, Jim (17 February 2020). "Air Senegal adds A321 service to Casablanca from April 2020". routesonline.com.
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