LC PTI Operating bases Website flyecair.com Ceased operations October 2016 Fleet size 5 Parent organization Southland Holding Corp. | PTI - Destinations 10 Headquarters Brazzaville, Congo Founded 2011 | |
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Key people Fatima Beyina-Moussa (CEO) | ||
Interview fatima beyina moussa ceo of equatorial congo airlines
Equatorial Congo Airlines SA, operating as ECAir, is an airline headquartered in Brazzaville and the flag carrier of the Republic of the Congo. As of 10 October 2016, the airline was forced to suspend all operations.
Contents
History
ECAir was created with the support of the Congolese Government to serve as a locomotive for the modernization of the aviation sector in the region. Crews and technical support for ECAir are provided by Geneva-based VIP business carrier PrivatAir. and thus ECAir avoids being included in the list of air carriers banned in the European Union, as are all airlines with maintenance services executed in the Republic of the Congo.
Operations commenced on 24 September 2010, the company having taken delivery of its first aircraft, a Boeing 737-300. It took delivery of a second Boeing 737-300 in February 2012. On 24 August 2012 ECAir launched its first International route, Brazzaville – Paris-CDG, offering 4-weekly service on board a PrivatAir Boeing 757 aircraft.
On 14 November 2014 the Belgian airline Jetairfly sealed a wet-lease deal to provide up to four aircraft with crew to operate on behalf of ECAir from mid 2015 on. Widebody operations were launched in February 2015 with the wet-lease of a Boeing 767-300ER from PrivatAir to be used on the Brazzaville to Paris service (4-weekly service). The delivery of a Boeing 787-8 was expected in the first half of 2016, with plans to open new routes to China and the United States.
The airline suspended all operations on 10 October 2016 until further notice after the responsible air navigation provider ceased all services to EC Air over unpaid debts. PrivatAir, which operated several routes on behalf of ECAir, ended all services for the airline as well.
Head office
ECAir has its corporate headquarters at ECAir House, Maya Maya Airport, Brazzaville.
Ownership and structure
ECAir, since its creation, is 70% owned by the Government of the Republic of the Congo, 15% by seaport of Pointe-Noire and 15% by Heli-Avia company. To launch the airline, the Government engaged Lufthansa Consulting, who managed the complete start-up process preparation, and developed a five-year business plan, including the future network and fleet structure for the new airline. From the outset, all cockpit crews and some cabin crews and technical support for ECAir have been provided by Geneva-based carrier PrivatAir. After Lufthansa Consulting was phased out, the airline obtained specialised consultancy services mainly via the company CoeM.
Business trends
The airline commenced operating in September 2011, and it was reported that the carrier’s business plan does not expect it to become profitable until its third year of operation, i.e. 2014. No annual reports have yet been published, and the main sources for business information are press releases and reports:
Destinations
As of June 2016, ECAir served the following destinations:
Fleet
As of November 2016, the ECAir fleet consists of the following aircraft: