During a stop over in GOOY (Dakar) I had a conversation with locals, and of course the subject of Senegal Airlines was front and center. According to the locals, The investors are totally clueless as none have any experience in the airline industry, the Son of the president who is the Air transport Minister (among 4 other ministries under his belt) who also controls more than half the country's budget is deeply involved in the process. They were not able to raise the anticipated funds and are now looking at leasing a A-320 from Sri Lanka Airlines
. I remember the initial announcement stating the pending order of 2 A-330 and 2 A-320
(MOU to Airbus at the Dubai Air Show). The Dakar Paris route using a single A-320 is not going to be an easy task given the amount of luggage passengers carry, during the days of Air Afrique (Defunct RK) luggage rarely arrived with the passengers, you had to keep going back to the airport, sometimes in the middle of the night to meet your suitcase because if you didn't retrieve it right away, someone else was going to
.I hope that they are not going to get the older Sri Lanka Bus (4R-ABF c/n 164 manufactured 1991) if the rumors are true. Meanwhile, ASKY has been denied Dakar Service in anticipation of Senegal Airlines.They also stated that the CEO Badiali gets about $US20K/month + perks and is housed in a 5 star Hotel while awaiting his villa...
and that everyone is now fully aware of his track record
.