|
|
 |
| Media |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Air Senegal International is extending its network
The Senegalese subsidiary of RAM is two years ahead of its business planning. They inaugurated their first Dakar-Paris flight last Saturday.
Air Senegal International (ASI) held its first meeting of the Board of Directors last Friday, in Casablanca. The company has reached cruising speed earlier than expected, with 125,000 passengers, 25% more than the figures forecast.
Air Senegal International rounded off the 2001 financial year with a turnover of around Euros17.5 million (CFAF 11.425 billion) and is planning to balance out its operations by the end of June 2002, two seasons before the term which had originally been planned at the inception of the company.
At the Board Meeting, the management team put forward several development projects, including an increase in the size of the fleet (which is currently made up of four aircraft) and the introduction of new connections. There are two additional projects : one to do with airline catering, and the other to do with ground support (handling). For both these projects, Royal Air Maroc confirms it is in negotiation with Senegalese partners. The catering project will be managed by Sotoram (a subsidiary which specialises in catering). According to Hamid Benbrah, the Director for International Strategy, RAM is planning to set up an aircraft maintenance unit in the Senegalese capital, in the medium term.
With all these good showings, Air Senegal International is reaching even higher . The carrier will no longer content itself with its eighteen regional flights, from Dakar. It is now setting itself up as an international operator. Last Saturday, it inaugurated the Dakar-Paris-Dakar connection. Moreover, it is in negotiation with South African Airways, to service the Dakar-Johannesburg-Dakar flight, in equal parts.
Royal Air Maroc is relying on its Senegalese partner to strengthen the Dakar platform, as a hub in the region , which could also supply Casablanca-Mohamed V with traffic, particularly when it comes to customers on connecting flights.
Zouhair Mohamed El Aoufir, the company's Managing Director, added that 2001 was a pivotal period, during which both the fleet and the turnover had doubled ". The Senegalese managers have found that " ever since the former Sonatra (former Senegalese air company) has been taken over by RAM, the company's standards of quality have been higher ". Mbaye, the former Managing Director of Sonatra, has even acknowledged that there can be no possible comparison between the two periods.
According to the members of the Board of Directors, " this project is a buoyant one and can serve as a model of South-South cooperation. The example of Air Senegal International is even cited on a continental level ".
Visiting card
Air Senegal International, which was created in 2000, is an offshoot of the partnership between Royal Air Maroc and Air Senegal. RAM holds 51% of the capital, while the remaining 49% belongs to the Senegalese Government. The capital stock amounts to around DH105 million.
In addition to the domestic flights, Air Senegal also offers flights to Conakry, Bamako, Las Palmas, Niamey, Nouakchott, Paris and, soon, Johannesburg.
> Back to the list of press articles
|
|
|
|
|
