ASKY Airlines: How West Africa's Main Low-Cost Hub Works

History and positioning

The ASKY project was born from the need to overcome the fragmentation of air transport in West Africa, where for decades linking two neighboring capitals often meant a stopover in Europe. With the support of Ethiopian Airlines as its industrial partner, ASKY has established itself as a direct alternative to that fragmentation, growing steadily even in the years when several local African carriers ceased operations.

The fleet

The fleet has reached seventeen aircraft, with eight Boeing 737 MAX and nine 737-800NG: a recent renewal that accompanies the airline's growth plan, which aims to reach thirty aircraft over the next five years, with the possible arrival of Boeing 787s in the medium term to open intercontinental routes through the collaboration with Ethiopian.

Routes and network

From Lomé the network reaches twenty-eight destinations in twenty-six countries in West and Central Africa, with a hub-and-spoke model designed to route most intra-regional connections through Lomé. The five-year plan calls for reaching forty destinations, including the first intercontinental routes to London, Paris, Dubai, Mumbai and Jeddah, as well as new African cities such as Cape Town, Entebbe and Kigali.

What passengers say

There is no body of international reviews for ASKY as large as for the big intercontinental carriers, but among travelers connecting West African capitals the airline is generally considered a more reliable alternative than many smaller local carriers, albeit with a booking website and customer service that are less immediate than those of the big international carriers.

ASKY Airlines is the most logical choice for anyone who needs to connect two cities in West or Central Africa without going through Europe or the Middle East, a result few other carriers offer with the same breadth of network. It is less suitable for those looking today for a direct intercontinental flight from Africa to Europe or Asia, because those routes are still in the planning stage. Allow extra margin for connections in Lomé, since the regional hub-and-spoke model can mean longer transit times than at the big international hubs.