The first Airbus A330neo to be based in Africa will touch down in Dakar, Senegal on January 31st as originally planned, but the aircraft is not ready for passenger service and will need to return to France for further flight testing.
A source at Air Senegal confirmed that the plane will be formally presented to Senegalese President Macky Sall at Dakar’s Blaise Diagne International Airport on Thursday.
Airbus pilots will be at the controls of the new jet, which today conducted the first of a “series” of test flights over the Atlantic Ocean. The source described the tests as “routine” and dismissed claims in some media outlets that there have been problems with the airline’s Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines.
Government-owned Air Senegal had hoped to induct the long-haul aircraft immediately after the presidential ceremony, earmarking it for a new daily service from Dakar to Paris. Instead, passengers will travel on an Airbus A340 (registration 9H-SUN) operated by Hi Fly Malta, a wet-lease operator, when the route launches on February 1st.
“We are supporting Air Senegal with … an A340 for the month of February,” Hi Fly chief executive Paulo Mirpuri confirmed in a phone interview today. He said the A340 will be available “until they receive the [A330neo] aircraft” and that it will fly in its existing plain-white color scheme.
9H-SUN was relocated from Beja, Hi Fly’s Portuguese home base, to Brussels on January 25th. It is expected to fly south to Dakar imminently.
The Senegalese source could not give a precise date for the delivery of the A330neo, saying Airbus will make the final decision and that the “second half of February” now looks likely. They stressed the importance of proper safety tests for all commercial aircraft and noted that small delays are common when inducting brand new aircraft types.
Air Senegal will become only the second operator in the world of the A330neo – an upgraded version of Airbus’s best-selling wide-body model. TAP Portugal became launch customer for the type in November.
The West African airline took to the skies last year in what amounted to Senegal’s third attempt at running a national flag-carrier. It is headed by former Airbus executive Philippe Bohn and has plans to make Dakar the largest aviation hub in the sub-region.
