Equatorial Congo Airlines

Equatorial Congo Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
LC PTI -
Founded 2011
Ceased operations October 2016
Operating bases Maya-Maya Airport
Fleet size 5
Destinations 10
Headquarters Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
Key people Fatima Beyina-Moussa (CEO)
Website flyecair.com

Equatorial Congo Airlines SA, operating as ECAir, is an airline headquartered in Brazzaville and the flag carrier of the Republic of the Congo.[1] As of 10 October 2016, the airline was forced to suspend all operations.[2]

History

ECAir was created with the support of the Congolese Government[3] to serve as a locomotive for the modernization of the aviation sector in the region. Crews and technical support for ECAir are provided by Geneva-based VIP business carrier PrivatAir.[4] and thus ECAir avoids being included in the list of air carriers banned in the European Union, as are all airlines with maintenance services executed in the Republic of the Congo.

Operations commenced on 24 September 2011, the company having taken delivery of its first aircraft, a Boeing 737-300. It took delivery of a second Boeing 737-300 in February 2012. On 24 August 2012 ECAir launched its first International route, Brazzaville – Paris-CDG, offering 4-weekly service on board a PrivatAir Boeing 757 aircraft.[5]

On 14 November 2014 the Belgian airline Jetairfly sealed a wet-lease deal to provide up to four aircraft with crew to operate on behalf of ECAir from mid 2015 on.[6][7] Widebody operations were launched in February 2015 with the wet-lease of a Boeing 767-300ER from PrivatAir to be used on the Brazzaville to Paris service (4-weekly service). The delivery of a Boeing 787-8 was expected in the first half of 2016, with plans to open new routes to China and the United States.[8]

The airline suspended all operations on 10 October 2016 until further notice after the responsible air navigation provider ceased all services to EC Air over unpaid debts.[2] PrivatAir, which operated several routes on behalf of ECAir, ended all services for the airline as well.[9]

Corporate affairs

Head office

Head office of Equatorial Congo Airlines at Airport Brazzaville

ECAir has its corporate headquarters at ECAir House, Maya Maya Airport, Brazzaville.

Ownership and structure

ECAir, since its creation, is 70% owned by the Government of the Republic of the Congo, 15% by seaport of Pointe-Noire and 15% by Heli-Avia company. To launch the airline, the Government engaged Lufthansa Consulting, who managed the complete start-up process preparation, and developed a five-year business plan, including the future network and fleet structure for the new airline.[10] From the outset, all cockpit crews and some cabin crews and technical support for ECAir have been provided by Geneva-based carrier PrivatAir. After Lufthansa Consulting was phased out, the airline obtained specialised consultancy services mainly via the company CoeM.

Business trends

The airline commenced operating in September 2011, and it was reported that the carrier’s business plan does not expect it to become profitable until its third year of operation, i.e. 2014.[11] No annual reports have yet been published, and the main sources for business information are press releases and reports:

2012 2013 2014 2015
Turnover
Number of employees 140 260 350
Number of passengers (000s) 207 360
Number of aircraft (at year end) 3 4 5 7
Notes/sources [12][13] [14][15] [16]

Destinations

As of June 2016, ECAir served the following destinations:[17]

City Country IATA ICAO Airport
Brazzaville Republic of the CongoBZVFCBBMaya-Maya Airport
Cotonou BeninCOODBBBCadjehoun Airport
Douala CameroonDLAFKKDDouala International Airport
Dubai[18] United Arab EmiratesDXBOMDBDubai International Airport
Libreville GabonLBVFOOLLibreville International Airport
Oyo Republic of the CongoOLLFCODOyo Ollombo Airport
Paris FranceCDGLFPGCharles de Gaulle Airport
Pointe-Noire Republic of the CongoPNRFCPPAntonio Agostinho Neto International Airport
Bamako MaliBKOGABSBamako International Airport[19]
Dakar SenegalDKRGOOYDakar International Airport[19]

Fleet

ECAir Boeing 737-700

As of November 2016, the ECAir fleet consists of the following aircraft:[20]

ECAir Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet On order Passengers Notes
Boeing 737-300 2 — 120 stored
Boeing 737-700 1 — 124 stored
Boeing 757-200 2 — 148 stored
Boeing 787-8 — 1 TBD never delivered; stored in Victorville[21]
Total 5 1

Trivia

References

  1. ↑ "ECAir Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  2. 1 2 ch-aviation.com - ECAIR Congo suspends operations over ASECNA debts 24 October 2016
  3. ↑ "ECAir - Equatorial Congo Air" (PDF). www.flyecair.com. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  4. ↑ Drum, Bruce (2011-08-20). "PrivatAir to operate this Boeing 737 for newcomer ECAir". World Airline News. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  5. ↑ 2016, UBM (UK) Ltd. "ECAir Launches New Service to Paris". Routesonline. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  6. ↑ "Congo's ECAIR adds first Jetairfly B737 to fleet". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  7. ↑ "Aerospec International | Belgium's Jetairfly Seals Wet-Lease Deal With ECAir". aerosmart.com. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  8. ↑ "Congolese Growth". Airliner World: 12. January 2015.
  9. ↑ http://privatair.com/current-services
  10. ↑ "The Republic of the Congo launches new national flag carrier ECAir". www.lhconsulting.com. September 26, 2011. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  11. ↑ "The Republic of the Congo national airline ECAir will not be profitable until 2014". CAPA. 7 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "AFRAA visits ECAIR; urges government to support airline create sub-regional hub". AFRAA. April 2013.
  13. ↑ "ECAir - Equatorial Congo Airlines". www.flyecair.com. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  14. ↑ "Aw ar2014". Issuu. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  15. ↑ "CAPA Profiles - African airline start-ups hold the key to unlocking the continent's riches". CAPA. 6 December 2012.
  16. ↑ 2016, UBM (UK) Ltd. "ECAir to Launch Route to Dakar via Bamako". Routesonline. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  17. ↑ "Programme mensuel des vols" (PDF). www.flyecair.com. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  18. ↑ 2016, UBM (UK) Ltd. "EC Air to Start Brazzaville – Dubai Nonstop Service from late-March 2014". Routesonline. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  19. 1 2 "ECAir opens a new route to Bamako and Dakar". World Airline News. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  20. ↑ planespotters.net - ECAir retrieved 13 November 2016
  21. ↑ http://www.jetphotos.net/photo/8358521

External links

Coordinates: 4°16′S 15°17′E / 4.267°S 15.283°E / -4.267; 15.283

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.