AF022 From France, joined Dec 2003, 2081 posts, RR: 1 Posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 2482 times:
I was in Senegal last week and was hoping to try the new airline ASKY for a flight to Douala, but it seems that ASKY doesn't even fly to Dakar yet! Does anyone know why? Are there plans to start flights?
Getting around West Africa is such an ordeal, ASKY would be a welcome entry into the Dakar market.
sw733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 1, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 2459 times:
Considering how many places they DO fly to with their really small fleet (wiki says 2x 73G, 1x Dash8, which sounds about right), I would guess that Dakar just hasn't been put on their list yet...I'm sure they have it in their future, just not yet. DKR has really good service, being one of the major capitals of West Africa (and the whole continent, actually); ASKY maybe figures they should focus on lesser-served cities first?
Maybe I am wrong...just trying to explain to myself why they might fly to places like Niamey, Banjul, Cotonou and N'Djamena over Dakar.
dkny From Ethiopia, joined Mar 2004, 692 posts, RR: 2 Reply 2, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 2409 times:
I remember reading somewhere that the Senegal government denied ASKY flying rights to DKR something to do with ET's involvement. Same with Nigeria and LOS
MaverickM11 From United States of America, joined Apr 2000, 15721 posts, RR: 48 Reply 3, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 2383 times:
Quoting dkny (Reply 2): I remember reading somewhere that the Senegal government denied ASKY flying rights to DKR something to do with ET's involvement. Same with Nigeria and LOS
That sounds right; I think Senegal is holding back competitors as much as possible until its home carrier gets off the ground again.
AF022 From France, joined Dec 2003, 2081 posts, RR: 1 Reply 4, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 14 hours ago) and read 2224 times:
Quoting MaverickM11 (Reply 3): That sounds right; I think Senegal is holding back competitors as much as possible until its home carrier gets off the ground again.
This doesn't seem to make sense. Is there any movement for the new airline? I didn't see anything when I was in Dakar. ASKY is being kept out of Senegal to protect a carrier that doesn't even exist?
MaverickM11 From United States of America, joined Apr 2000, 15721 posts, RR: 48 Reply 5, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 12 hours ago) and read 2189 times:
Quoting AF022 (Reply 4): This doesn't seem to make sense.
ETStar From Canada, joined Jan 2004, 2103 posts, RR: 9 Reply 7, posted (2 years 7 months 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 1940 times:
State protectionism at its best. Asky has been trying to gain access to Abidjan, Lagos and Dakar since before its inception. These cities are of great economic importance to the region. It gained access to Abidjan with 3 flights per week, and it appears that ET also started serving Abidjan via Lome in its own right to bring service to 6x per week. Lagos is finally coming on board on October 30 (per link below), although flights/schedules have yet to be posted.
Maybe I am wrong...just trying to explain to myself why they might fly to places like Niamey, Banjul, Cotonou and N'Djamena over Dakar.
Three of the destinations you mention are not served by ET the mothership, and Asky provides the right connections to ET's service to/from Lome. ET has even transferred Monrovia ops to Asky, as it seems the latter is a better fit. I was quite surprised at how quickly the flights to Cotonou grew to daily, and how quickly Asky's network has expanded in less than a year (18 cities).
ETStar From Canada, joined Jan 2004, 2103 posts, RR: 9 Reply 8, posted (2 years 7 months 22 hours ago) and read 1856 times:
An article from Senegal today which discusses the protectionist stance that the Senegal government has taken. En francais. Interestingly, 22% of Asky staff are from Senegal.
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From France, joined Dec 2003, 2081 posts, 
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