FlyWestAf Algeria. The new LCC will help boost African tourism by offering domestic and international services.
The FlyWestAF team had been considering Algeria as a potential market as early as 2016, however the conditions required to move forward were not then in place. Subsequently, the LCC had instead been focusing on operating out of Banjul in The Gambia in West Africa. According to CAPA, the proposed start-up LCC was due to commence services by May 2021 from a base at Banjul Yundum International Airport, offering flights to nine destinations including Dakar, Bissau, Conakry, Freetown, Abidjan, Monrovia, Praia and Bamako with a fleet of five DHC-8-400s.
With the Gambian LCC still not launched however, FlyWestAf has confirmed plans (via its website) to push ahead with the launch of its Algerian service. “The arrival of a 100% Algerian LCC will contribute to one of the most important conditions to launch the tourism sector: low-cost prices,” a statement on its website reads. It will also make the “Algerian destination attractive” and support growth in the tourism sector.
The team behind the airline also believes that a 100% Algerian charter operator on African soil will reduce the costs associated with charter operations and thus develop the market share for external demand which is experiencing strong growth in West and Central Africa.
With regard to domestic demand, the flexibility of supply it says will have a direct effect on the control of charter budget.
The airline’s statement also states that “80% of charter in West and Central Africa in 2019 was carried out by European or Middle Eastern companies, which accounts for more than $350 million in revenue.
