Ivory Coast’s national carrier, Air Côte d’Ivoire, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European manufacturing giant, Airbus, for the acquisition of two (02) Airbus A330neos, with delivery set for the last quarter of 2024. The MoU was signed yesterday Tuesday October 24 at Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse – France.
According to the Ivorian Minister of Transport, Amadou Koné, and as reported by news.abidjan, the Government of the West African nation is investing nothing less than 200 billion francs CFA on both A330neo jets, with the acquisition of an additional Airbus A321neo to follow between late 2024 and early 2025.
Speaking on the deployment of the new aircraft, the Minister said: “Ivory Coast’s strategic geographical location will enable the 240-seater jets to be operated on Air Côte d’Ivoire’s long haul flights to Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The Ivorian Government is giving its full support to Air Côte d’Ivoire towards the realisation of this project, and will continue to support the carrier to ensure its operations remain sustainable”, he said.
A statement by Airbus confirms that the new wide body aircraft – the first of its kind in the carrier’s fleet – will enable Air Côte d’Ivoire expand its network, and “efficiently launch long haul routes in view of the airline’s transcontinental expansion strategy.”
The Abidjan based airline launched operations in May 2012 and has since plied domestic routes from its hub in Abidjan. Its regional routes include destinations both in West and Southern Africa, and its current fleet consists of four (04) De Havilland Q400 Dash 8s, three (03) A319s, two (02) A320ceo as well as one (01) A320 neo aircraft.
