Upcoming direct flight from Abidjan to the US?
Feb 11, 2015, 2:31 am
#16
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The buzz around here last week is that the SAA JNB-DKR-USA routes might not be long for this world. They're considering moving both the JFK and IAD routes and splitting them between ABJ and another airport (which could be the ACC mention). I guess we'll see in the coming weeks.
Mar 3, 2015, 2:27 am
#19
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It appears that the TSA is in Abidjan this week doing their security inspection, at least according to the letter in this news story: http://www.connectionivoirienne.net/...ientot-auditee
Things seem to be moving quickly!
Things seem to be moving quickly!
Mar 3, 2015, 9:58 am
#20
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It also looks like this site in Senegal is all but announcing the SAA shift in this strange and rambling story. It's unclear if they are following the French tradition of saying next March (au mois de mars prochain) to mean March 2015, or if they mean next March, in 2016. (It was drafted in February)
http://www.senenews.com/2015/02/14/s...an_112204.html
http://www.senenews.com/2015/02/14/s...an_112204.html
Mar 16, 2015, 4:19 am
#21
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Reportedly the TSA will provide the ABJ airport their official certification (or rejection) by March 31st.
The latest rumor is that direct US flights will then presumably start in "July" http://www.connectionivoirienne.net/...oport-dabidjan
Edit: I mistakenly put May when I meant March. It's corrected above. New story reporting the same from today about the March 31st deadline: http://news.abidjan.net/h/528966.html
The latest rumor is that direct US flights will then presumably start in "July" http://www.connectionivoirienne.net/...oport-dabidjan
Edit: I mistakenly put May when I meant March. It's corrected above. New story reporting the same from today about the March 31st deadline: http://news.abidjan.net/h/528966.html
Last edited by lamprey; Mar 17, 2015 at 10:08 am Reason: corrected date and added additional article
Apr 12, 2015, 12:09 am
#22
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News reports are now saying that the TSA has certified the ABJ airport for direct flights to the U.S., a process that took them 15 years. Jeune Afrique is reporting that SAA will have the first direct flights, followed by Delta: http://economie.jeuneafrique.com/reg...tats-unis.html
Apr 13, 2015, 5:44 am
#23
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Also reported by Airwise News.
May 4, 2015, 4:32 am
#24
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I heard on the radio here in Abidjan that apparently the transportation minister is claiming that direct flights from ABJ-US will start by October. That month, coincidentally, is when the presidential elections will be held and there is no airline yet named in the story, so take it with a grain of salt.
May 27, 2015, 4:44 am
#25
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New rumblings from Bloomberg, though no specifics other than a direct U.S. flight "by the end of July" according to "a person familiar with the talks." Still seems like SAA is the most-likely contender.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...efore-end-july
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...efore-end-july
May 27, 2015, 7:20 am
#26
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End of July is pretty close unless there has been a lot of work we don't know about. I would think SAA could set up pretty quickly since they already have a presence in ABJ.
May 27, 2015, 11:23 am
#27
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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sou...ana-2015-05-27
No word of Abidjan yet, but I've been rebooked on 209 automatically for an itinerary in October.
ORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- South African Airways (SAA), Africa's most awarded airline, will launch new nonstop service between Washington, D.C.-Dulles International Airport and Accra's Kotoka International Airport on August 3, 2015. With the introduction of this new flight, SAA will be providing the only nonstop flight between Washington D.C. and Ghana, as well as the only Skytrax 4-Star rated airline service and world-class quality from North America to the entire West Africa region. South African Airways also offers convenient connections from over 50 markets in the U.S. and Canada through its airline partners United Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Virgin America via Washington, D.C.-Dulles.
May 27, 2015, 1:37 pm
#28
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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sou...ana-2015-05-27
No word of Abidjan yet, but I've been rebooked on 209 automatically for an itinerary in October.
No word of Abidjan yet, but I've been rebooked on 209 automatically for an itinerary in October.
$899 RT as a ACC-IAD promo is nice; Delta is charging twice that currently (through JFK), so I hope the competition is good for that market.
May 27, 2015, 2:53 pm
#29
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It's not clear exactly what is playing out, but this is what it seems:
Daily JNB-DKR-IAD-DKR-JNB has been switched to:
4x weekly via ACC instead of DKR (SA209/SA210)
3x weekly will remain via DKR (SA207/208)
JNB-ACC-JNB was previously daily, with a tag-on to ABJ 3x weekly. Seemingly, JNB-ACC-ABJ-ACC-JNB is remaining 3x weekly (SA56/SA57), with JNB-ACC-JNB (SA52/SA53) ending.
This doesn't rule out ABJ, since ABJ could replace the 3x weekly DKR flights.
Daily JNB-DKR-IAD-DKR-JNB has been switched to:
4x weekly via ACC instead of DKR (SA209/SA210)
3x weekly will remain via DKR (SA207/208)
JNB-ACC-JNB was previously daily, with a tag-on to ABJ 3x weekly. Seemingly, JNB-ACC-ABJ-ACC-JNB is remaining 3x weekly (SA56/SA57), with JNB-ACC-JNB (SA52/SA53) ending.
This doesn't rule out ABJ, since ABJ could replace the 3x weekly DKR flights.
May 28, 2015, 11:06 am
#30
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,731
It's not clear exactly what is playing out, but this is what it seems:
Daily JNB-DKR-IAD-DKR-JNB has been switched to:
4x weekly via ACC instead of DKR (SA209/SA210)
3x weekly will remain via DKR (SA207/208)
JNB-ACC-JNB was previously daily, with a tag-on to ABJ 3x weekly. Seemingly, JNB-ACC-ABJ-ACC-JNB is remaining 3x weekly (SA56/SA57), with JNB-ACC-JNB (SA52/SA53) ending.
This doesn't rule out ABJ, since ABJ could replace the 3x weekly DKR flights.
Daily JNB-DKR-IAD-DKR-JNB has been switched to:
4x weekly via ACC instead of DKR (SA209/SA210)
3x weekly will remain via DKR (SA207/208)
JNB-ACC-JNB was previously daily, with a tag-on to ABJ 3x weekly. Seemingly, JNB-ACC-ABJ-ACC-JNB is remaining 3x weekly (SA56/SA57), with JNB-ACC-JNB (SA52/SA53) ending.
This doesn't rule out ABJ, since ABJ could replace the 3x weekly DKR flights.
From a different article:
SAA currently operates daily flights between Johannesburg and Accra. Effective 2 August 2015 the schedule will be reconfigured as follows:
Four of the weekly Accra flights will continue onwards to Washington;
Three of the weekly Accra flights will continue onwards to Abidjan, Ivory Coast;
Three of the current weekly flights to Washington will continue operating from Johannesburg, via Dakar, Senegal.
Four of the weekly Accra flights will continue onwards to Washington;
Three of the weekly Accra flights will continue onwards to Abidjan, Ivory Coast;
Three of the current weekly flights to Washington will continue operating from Johannesburg, via Dakar, Senegal.