Air Senegal blazes trail for A330-neo in Africa

March 11, 2019 in Business, Companies, Foreign News by Editor

Air Senegal has become the African operator of the Airbus A330-900 after taking delivery of an example of the type on March 8 on Toulouse.

The twin jet, configured to a three-class cabin features 32 seats in Business class, 21 Premium Plus and 237 Economy class seats. Air Senegal will deploy its first A330neo on its Dakar-Paris route.

Other African airlines that will be operating the A330neo include Uganda Airlines which has a pending order for a pair of the -900’s smaller iteration the -800neo. Uganda Airlines expects to receive its aircraft in December 2020.

Other African airlines that plan to operate the jet are Rwandair which will later this year receive a pair of -900’s on lease as well as Air Mauritius which will be the first airline to operate the neo alongside the A350. The 900’s destined for both Rwandair and Air Mauritius completed post production flights on March 7.

Powered by the new generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the neo gives operators 25pc lower fuel burn per seat than previous generation competitors. Featuring the Airspace cabin, the A330neo also offers a unique passenger experience with its flat ceiling and more personal space.