Air Afrique is moving ahead with a privatisation plan from which the debt-ridden carrier hopes to emerge with 49% of the shares held privately, leaving the state owners of the Cote-d'Ivoire-based airline with the remainder.
Ministers of the 11 former French colonies in West Africa, which own the bulk of the shares, have been meeting throughout early October to discuss the plan, says Cyrill Agbemohevi Komlan, Air Afrique's head of services.
Talks are progressing with Air France, which owns a 10% stake, about it becoming a strategic partner and possibly taking up a larger stake in the airline.
As part of the plan, the French Government would buy back four Airbus A310-300s, which were recently seized by creditors, and lease the four aircraft back to the carrier. The four A310s make up one quarter of the airline's fleet.
Privatisation would provide much-needed cash to service Air Afrique's estimated debts of CFA Fr 31 billion ($ 5.6 million). In the meantime, the airline is following plans drawn up by a special committee set up to help the airline overcome its financial crisis. These include leasing an A310 and two A300B4s to replace those aircraft recently seized.
The airline, which serves around 30 destinations in Africa, Europe and North America, has also reduced frequencies on some routes, including Dakar-New York from seven to four flights a week and Dakar-Paris from seven to six flights a week.
Source: Flight International
