Air France, the French aviation giant, has made public, via the specialist site Aéroroute, the adjustment assessment of its intercontinental network indicating the program of its operations for the 2024/25 winter season. The airline has reduced the frequency of its departures to three of the six CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Community) countries for the next four months from its global hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. The modifications mentioned concern Cameroon, Gabon and Chad.
The company now offers 6 weekly departures instead of 7 to Libreville. A first since the resumption in June 2023 of its pace before the Covid-19 health crisis. Air France bases this change on the observed drop in demand in this country while the aviator claims 130,000 passengers transported there per year. She nevertheless specifies that this plan, which came into force on October 27, will be modifiable from February 23, 2025.
Yaoundé also saw a flight canceled, going from 5 to 4 departures per week. For Cameroon, the company has not indicated the date of return to normal or the reasons for this change. This operation could help reduce the market shares of Air France which controls 20.21% of the air transport market in Cameroon according to statistics from the Aeronautical Authority with the imminent arrival of a new operator. Indeed, Qatar Airways has announced the strengthening of its presence in Africa. The company which does not yet serve Cameroon with a direct flight has acquired stakes in the South African national company Airlink, thus opening a breach for the Cameroonian sky.
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N’Djamena airport will not undergo any major changes to its flight schedule. For the country of Toumaï, Air France will not reduce the number of flights but will carry out a “change in direction” sooner. More precisely, of the 4 weekly flights planned, 2 will be transferred to round-trip flights in order to offer more “flexibility to passengers”.
New planes for Cameroon and Gabon
In addition to the reduction in flights, the French aviator gave more details on the arrival of the new planes which will serve the destinations of Yaoundé and Libreville. The long-awaited Boeing 797-9 in Cameroon will enter service on November 1st. The plane announced last May by the Air France-Klm management team was supposed to arrive “in the coming days in order to respond to customer grievances.” In fact, the Groupement des Entreprises du Cameroun (Gecam) reported to the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (Ccaa) grievances against the company, in particular the quality of services, the obsolescence of the aircraft used on its flights and the high prices.
A new plane will also serve Gabon. The Boeing 777 or B777 will replace the Air Bus A330-200 which manages weekly mail from Libreville airport. This wide-body, long-haul and twin-jet airliner will respond, from January 13, to the projection that Air France is making for the improvement of its company’s service offering in Gabon.
Although Air France does not disclose its results by country, it should still be noted that the company plans a decline in its activities in sub-Saharan Africa in 2024 after having generated 2.6 billion euros in turnover in this region. of the continent in 2023. The company is the market leader in the Cemac Zone ahead of strong competitors such as Ethiopian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.
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