Air Côte d'Ivoire: The Flag Carrier Aiming to Make Abidjan a West African Hub

History and positioning

Launched in 2012 to rebuild a national flag carrier after the collapse of the previous Ivorian airline, it has grown steadily to become one of West Africa's most active regional carriers.

The fleet

A fleet that combines Bombardier Q400 turboprops and Airbus A319/A320 narrowbodies for regional routes with, since 2025, its first widebody, the Airbus A330-900neo, acquired specifically to open long-haul routes such as Abidjan-Paris; the airline has also ordered Embraer E175 jets (deliveries expected from 2027) to strengthen the feeder network into Abidjan.

Routes and network

About six domestic destinations in Côte d'Ivoire and some twenty international destinations in West and Central Africa, plus the new long-haul link to Paris Charles de Gaulle launched in October 2025, the airline's first true long-haul route.

Outlook

The strategy aims to use the new E175s and the A330neo to turn Abidjan into a connecting point for West African traffic rather than remaining a point-to-point national carrier, although the ambition still depends on aircraft deliveries that are some way off.

The ideal passenger is connecting across West and Central Africa via Abidjan, or wants to try out the new long-haul Abidjan-Paris link early on. It is not the right choice for anyone who needs an extensive long-haul network today, since the Paris route remains for now its only true long-haul service. Practical tip: choose the Abidjan-Paris route operated with the A330neo specifically if cabin comfort matters to you, because most of the regional network continues to use older narrowbody and turboprop aircraft.