| Airline: | Air Côte d'Ivoire |
| Iata: | HF |
| Icao: | VRE |
| Callsign: | COTE D'IVOIRE |
| Hubs: | Port Bouet Airport |
| Frequent Flyer: | sMiles[1] |
| Fleet Size: | 11 |
| Destinations: | 27 |
| Headquarters: | Port Bouet Airport, Abidjan, Ivory Coast |
| Key People: | [2] |
| Revenue: | XOF 48b (USD 88.7m) (2020)[3] |
Air Côte d'Ivoire is the flag carrier of Ivory Coast, based in Abidjan. The company succeeded the country's former flag carrier Air Ivoire, which went bankrupt in 2011. It started operations on 12 November 2012.
The airline was set up on 15 May 2012, as a private-public entity, partially owned by Air France – which intended to make Port Bouet Airport a regional hub – and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). Air Côte d'Ivoire had an initial capital of CFAF2.5 billion, majority-owned by the government of Ivory Coast (65%), with the balance held by Air France Finance (20%) and Aérienne de Participation-Côte d'Ivoire (15%), an airline holding company of AKFED. The Ivory Coast had had no national carriers since the collapse of Air Ivoire in .
The airline will have "technical, commercial and operational synergies" with Air Mali and Air Burkina, two other airlines associated with the AKFED.
As of November 2012, it was planned for the new company to have 13 flight captains, 12 first officers and 37 cabin crew. The company projects to have a passenger capacity of 330,000 per year. It carried 253,000 passengers during 2013.
, the parent entities of the shareholders are:
| Shareholder | Interest | |
|---|---|---|
| 58% | ||
| Air France-KLM | 11% | |
| Golden Road | 23% | |
| Other investors | 8% | |
| Total | 100% |
The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development was a 15% shareholder until 2013, when it was reported that it would withdraw from Air Côte d'Ivoire. The shareholding was acquired by Golden Road, a consortium of private Ivorian investors,[4] with shareholdings changing following subsequent fundraising.
Air Côte d'Ivoire does not appear to publish annual accounts, but some figures have been made available via press reports, interviews and other publications (figures shown for years ending 31 December):
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover (CFA b) | 26.98 | 76.01 | 83.00 | 48.00 | |||||||||
| Net profit after tax (CFA b) | |||||||||||||
| Number of employees (at year end) | 290 | 612 | 578 | 600 | |||||||||
| Number of passengers (m) | 0.25 | 0.40 | 0.60 | 0.72 | 0.76 | 0.30 | |||||||
| Passenger load factor (%) | 65 | ||||||||||||
| Number of aircraft (at year end) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | ||||
| Notes/sources | [5] [6] | [7] [8] | [9] [10] [11] | [12] | [13] | ||||||||
, Air Côte d'Ivoire CEO or General Manager (Directeur Général) is Laurent Loukou.[2]
, the airline had initial plans to operate scheduled services from its hub in Abidjan on a network covering nine international destinations in West and East Africa, although some of them would be flown by sister companies Air Burkina and Air Mali. Cities served with Air Côte d'Ivoire's own aircraft were expected to include Accra, Conakry, Cotonou and Dakar. Operations commenced on, with the carrier's maiden flight linking Abidjan with Dakar.
, the company's route map indicate that it serves the following destinations:[14]
, Air Côte d'Ivoire operates the following aircraft:[22] [23]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | ||||||
| Airbus A319-100 | 4 | - | 12 | 96 | 108 | |||
| Airbus A320-200 | 2 | - | 12 | 138 | 150 | |||
| Airbus A320neo | 1[24] | - | TBA | |||||
| Airbus A330-900 | - | 2 | TBA | Deliveries from 2024.[25] [26] | ||||
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 | 4 | - | 7 | 60 | 67 | |||
| Total | 11 | 2 | ||||||
The carrier took delivery of its first aircraft, an ex-Air France Airbus A319 manufactured in 2004, in on lease from Macquarie AirFinance. During the 2013 Dubai Air Show, it was announced the carrier placed a conditional order for up to four Bombardier Q400s. Worth million, a firm order was announced in . African Export-Import Bank will finance 95% of the acquisition. The carrier plans to use one of these aircraft to replace the E-170 on regional services. The first Dash 8-Q400 was delivered in late 2014.[27] An additional order for two more aircraft of the type was placed in .
An order comprising two Airbus A320neos and two Airbus A320ceos that was placed in was boosted in July the same year when an additional A320neo was ordered.
The airline has operated the following aircraft: