Airbus reveals its African Ambitions

In mid-June, the leaders of Airbus visited Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire and explained their strong interest in strengthening their relationship with Africa. They were in Cote d'Ivoire to organise the aerial development of the country.

The European aeronautical company, Airbus, explained in Abidjan that they hope to double their sales in the African continent. Indeed, last year the company increased the number of flights from Paris to Abidjan to four flights a week. 'We are very satisfied with the results of the A380 to Abidjan so we decided to add one more flight per week during summer time' said Philippe Barbieri, the regional delegate for Air France. Following last year's achievements, this year the company has decided not only to increase the flights but also to increase sales to Africa.

The objective is to double sales, from 25 to 50 planes sold each year. The leaders were in Cote d'Ivoire to investigate both the development potential of the country and the transport inside of Africa. The potential is currently very low, but could be increased in the coming years depending on the economic development of the continent. The statistics show that in circa twenty years, Africa will need around one thousand planes, an opportunity that Airbus cannot miss.

Cote d'Ivoire was the first country in Africa to order an Airbus 380, at the end of April 2016. The country is a new customer for Airbus. Cote d'Ivoire might well be making an investment for the future as the continent is developing very quickly. However, other countries have begun to order planes too: South Africa has ordered five A330s. Africa is reaching out to the world, but also establishing connections within the African continent thanks to many new flights on offer, showing the strong will of many African countries to open up.