Senegalese carrier, Air Senegal is set for its inaugural flight operations into Nigeria’s aviation industry as it plans to establish a hub in West Africa.
The airline in a statement said it will start flying to Nigeria from the 16th of March 2020.
The airline is seeking to establish an aviation hub in the capital Dakar as it expands its route network to more European countries.
According to atqnews.com, Air Senegal commenced flight operations to both Geneva and London, its fourth and fifth destinations in Europe. The carrier is to lease two 165-seat A321s – 149 economy seats, 16 lie-flat business – for these routes, and also for Abidjan, Casablanca, and Conakry.
In December, last year, it added Dakar to Lagos via Accra; Abuja via Niamey; Casablanca; and Barcelona via Marseille. The carriers is also planning Freetown via Banjul is coming in June. But the carrier was stopped from operating into the country following the country’s refusal to allow two Nigerian airlines, Arik Air and Air Peace operate into Senegal.
Clearly, the carrier is focusing significantly on hub-and-spoke, in contrast to the previous point-to-point Senegal Airlines. A highly coordinated hub is an obvious strategy for Air Senegal, partly given its geographic position.
Its timings are, of course, based on maximising connectivity to/from West Africa. Although it does vary a little based on day, Abidjan, Bamako, Banjul, Bissau, Conakry, Freetown, Nouakchott, and Praia are available over Dakar on a two-way basis, with connections within about two hours in both directions.
