Air Sénégal targets US debut from late 3Q21

Air Sénégal has announced a new year-round service from September 2, 2021, between Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l and the United States as part of the strategic expansion of its intercontinental network. The state airline announced it would operate two frequencies a week to New York JFK and onwards to Washington Dulles. The return service is routed Washington Dulles-New York JFK-Dakar (rather than being a triangular route). While Delta flies between New York JFK and Dakar, this will make Air Sénégal the only African airline operating directly between the two countries. Flights would be operated with 290-seat A330-900Ns in three-class configuration, including 32 seats in business class, 21 in premium economy, and 237 seats in economy class. In its application for a US foreign air carrier permit in February 2021, Air Sénégal revealed it planned to operate the services under a wet-lease arrangement, referring to Hi Fly Malta which operates the Senegalese carrier's A330-900, 9H-SZN, on its behalf under a CMI arrangement. Senegal doesn’t have a US FAA Category 1 safety rating, meaning Senegalese-registered aircraft cannot operate flights to the US.<br/>