Air Senegal international Spreads Its Wings

Two years after being founded, young Air Senegal International (ASI) has reached a crucial new stage in its development, having just inaugurated two new generation Boeing 737-700S. As a result of this fleet modernization, the Company intends to remain a major player in the West African airline industry. It also is determined to respond to market demands in terms of the number of flights and the quality of its service it is able to provide.

Created as a result of a cooperative agreement between Morocco and Senegal, Air Senegal International, controlled 51% by Royal Air Maroc and 49% by the Senegalese state, was officially started on November 2, 2000, and launched its first commercial flight on February 23, 2001. Since then, it has traveled far, earning the pride of its people and the highest Senegalese authorities. The President of the Republic of Senegal cited the Company as an example of success in his traditional New Year’s speech on December 31, 2002.

The new company, that has already demonstrated leadership in the regions, owes its success for the most part to the quality, regularity and punctuality of its service that has been made possible thanks to its strategic partnership with the experienced Royal Air Maroc.
The results obtained after the first two years of existence surpass all predictions and have rendered obsolete the Company’s initial business plan.

Having started with a fleet of two planes, a Dash 8Q 300 with 50 seats and a Boeing 737-200 with 99 seats, the Company had foreseen to transport 98,000 passengers with 24 national flights and 48 international flights to nine international destinations and four national destinations in 2001. In terms of turnover, the forecast was for 7.1 billion FCFA. With a carrier market, structural conditions and a very favorable contingency outlook of a quality air transport company, forecasts, however, have been quickly reviewed upward.
Before the end of that year, ASI doubled the number of international flights, transporting 124,000 passengers during the first ten months and augmenting turnover to reach the total of 11 billion FCFA, which was two times the turnover figure forecast in the business plan.

ASI’s progress in 2002 has been similar to that achieved in the first year, with the growth rate of two times and even three times!