Air Côte d'Ivoire wants to serve Morocco from January 2023
With the health crisis behind it, Air Côte d'Ivoire has resumed its expansion strategy. The Ivorian state-owned airline is eyeing several new routes, including Casablanca, and is betting on strengthening its fleet.
Air Côte d'Ivoire is now planning to open a direct route between Abidjan and Casablanca from January 2023. This service was originally planned for November this year.
The route will be served four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays by Airbus A320/320neo. Once launched, Air Côte d'Ivoire will compete with Royal Air Maroc, which currently connects the two cities with 12 weekly rotations by Boeing 737.
According to the schedule, flights depart from Abidjan at 00.05hrs and arrive at 05.25hrs. Return flights will leave Morocco at 6.25am and land at 9.45am.
This new development comes on the heels of the announcement of the contract with Airbus for the acquisition of two A330neo aircraft, to be delivered from 2024. "The new A330neo wide-body aircraft will enable the airline to "develop its network and effectively launch long-haul routes as part of its transcontinental expansion strategy", says the manufacturer. Air Côte d'Ivoire has its sights set on several European routes, notably Paris but also the United States, from Abidjan. The A330-900 offers a 25% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, and is capable of flying up to 13,300 km non-stop. It has already received 275 firm orders from over 20 customers worldwide.
Once in service, Air Côte d'Ivoire will join the closed circle of African operators - the other three being Air Senegal (2), Air Mauritius (2) as well as Uganda Airlines which operates two units but the less capable variant-800. Its fleet currently comprises one A320neo, two A320ceo, three A319s and four Dash8-400s. Last month, it finally cancelled its 2019 order for two A319neo aircraft.
