Air Côte d’Ivoire Airbus A330-900neo Coming Soon, With First Class!

In October 2022, Air Côte d’Ivoire placed a fascinating wide body aircraft order, and the airline even plans to introduce a first class product. I know I’m probably more interested in this order than anyone else outside of Côte d’Ivoire (and perhaps even anyone inside the country!), so by all means skip this post if you don’t share my enthusiasm.

However, there’s now an exciting update — the airline will be imminently taking delivery of these planes, and we even know what the interiors, including first class, will look like (thanks to Mamad for flagging this).

Air Côte d’Ivoire adding Airbus A330-900neo to fleet

Air Côte d’Ivoire, the national airline of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, has placed a firm order for two Airbus A330-900neo aircraft. The aircraft order is directly with Airbus, rather than through a third party leasing company. The airline currently has a fleet consisting of 11 planes, including eight Airbus A320-family aircraft, plus three De Havilland Dash 8 aircraft.

Both of these A330-900neos have already been produced and are in the carrier’s livery, one with engines, and one without engines. The one with engines has the registration code TU-TRG, and it has already performed its first flight in Toulouse (TLS).

The expectation is that the airline will take delivery of the first of these planes in the coming weeks, likely in late August 2025. This timing coincides with the country’s 65th anniversary of independence.

The company has recently secured financing for the jets from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), with a government spokesperson stating the following:

“The financing under this agreement will enable Air Côte d’Ivoire to launch direct and regular long-haul flights from Abidjan to major American and European cities such as New York and Paris, as well as several other international destinations. The project specifically includes the acquisition of two long-haul Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, each with a capacity of 242 seats, to support the growth of Air Côte d’Ivoire, reduce air travel costs, and improve our country’s air connectivity.”

For those not familiar, the A330neo is the updated version of the A330, featuring improved range and fuel efficiency. The A330-900neo is the larger of the two new variants (with the other being the A330-800neo). The plane has a range of 7,350 nautical miles, plus a capacity for 287 passengers in a standard three cabin configuration.

Air Côte d’Ivoire had previously ordered two Airbus A319neos, but that order has since been canceled. This new A330-900neo order seems to be part of a swap. The airline will be the fourth A330neo operator in Africa, after Air Mauritius, Air Senegal, and Uganda Airlines.

Air Côte d’Ivoire A330neo cabin layout & seats

Air Côte d’Ivoire A330-900neos are expected to feature just 242 seats, in a four cabin configuration, meaning the plane will have first class, business class, premium economy, and economy. This is a very premium heavy configuration, and it’s also interesting to note that the airline plans to introduce first class, making it one of the only new airlines to offer this product.

Air Côte d’Ivoire will be the first airline to install first class on the Airbus A330neo, and will only be the second airline in Africa to offer first class, after TAAG Angola (which I’ve flown, and it was… not great).

While the decision to include first class may make some wonder whether the airline is profit or prestige driven, in fairness, Abidjan has quite a bit of premium demand. For example, it’s one of the only destinations in Africa to which Air France sometimes flies a Boeing 777 with a first class cabin.

With just 242 seats, this will indeed be a pretty premium layout. For example, Air Mauritius’ A330-900neos feature 287 seats, and Air Senegal’s A330-900neos feature 290 seats. I’ve been very curious to know what the cabins on this plane would look like, and we now have the details, as the below video offers a cabin tour. As you can see, the plane is already filled fitted with interiors, which is great news.

So, what can be conclude? First class consists of just one row of seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration. In terms of hard product, this appears to be more of a “business class plus” experience, and best I can tell, this is actually the same seating concept as the Virgin Atlantic Retreat Suite on the A330-900neo. At least there’s a partition between first class and business class.

Business class seems to be a customized Thompson Aero Vantage XL product, basically identical to what you’ll find in ITA Airways’ A330-900neo business class (there are no doors at seats, or else it would be similar to Virgin Atlantic’s A330-900neo). What stands out to me is just how many business class seats there are, as there are two large business class cabins.

Premium economy and economy also look decent, with economy being quite small, given the premium layout.

How Air Côte d’Ivoire plans to launch long haul flights

As it stands, Air Côte d’Ivoire exclusively operates flights within Africa from its hub, Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan (ABJ). So, what’s the airline planning to do with its Airbus A330-900neos? Well, the company has big growth plans.

Once the A330-900neo joins the fleet, the goal is to first fly to Paris, which is logical enough. However, the Paris to Abidjan route is also operated by Air France and Corsair. At one point Air France even operated an Airbus A380 on this route, to give you a sense of the amount of traffic.

Without any partnerships, Air Côte d’Ivoire would be focused primarily on point-to-point traffic. The airline does have a decent network in Africa, so at least the airline would have some connecting traffic from within Africa for its services to Europe and the United States. Still, the economics will be tough.

Beyond that, Air Côte d’Ivoire claims that it’s planning on launching flights to Brussels, London, New York, and Washington, by 2027. Now, I wouldn’t put too much weight into those plans just yet. In late 2022, when this order was placed, executives at the airline claimed United States service would happen by early 2025, and now the timeline has been pushed back considerably.

I have a hard time imagining that this expansion is driven by an actual plan for profitability, rather than just prestige and dreams. For example, just look at the struggles that Air Senegal has had with its A330-900neos, as the airline has tried to grow. The airline has already cut its Dakar to New York route, as the airline has been hemorrhaging money, and is looking to cut costs.

Bottom line

In late 2022, government-owned Air Côte d’Ivoire placed an order for two Airbus A330-900neos. The first of these planes is expected to join the carrier’s fleet in the coming weeks, and it will be used for intercontinental expansion.

Specifically, Paris is expected to be the first destination, with plans to expand to other points in Europe (London & Brussels) and the United States (New York & Washington) by 2027.

The A330-900neos are expected to feature just 242 seats in a four class layout, meaning the airline will have first class, business class, premium economy, and economy. I’m always excited about a new airline getting wide body jets, though it remains to be seen how successful the company will be with this major expansion.

What do you make of Air Côte d’Ivoire’s Airbus A330-900neo plans, and the carrier’s cabins for these planes?