Cameroon’s New Flag Carrier Takes to the Air

The new national carrier of Cameroon launched operations at the end of March, with two foreign nationals at the helm. The start-up, Cameroon Airways Corporation, or Camair Co, has been formed to replace former state entity Cameroon Airlines, which suspended operations in 2008. Dutchman Alex Van Elk, formerly of Arik Air, is its Director General, while Austrian Gustav Baldauf has become Chief Operations Officer.

The start-up launched operations on March 27 using a mix of 128-seat Boeing 737-700s and a 210-seat 767-300ER models. Its network comprises a mix of domestic and international services, initially covering Garoua, Maroua and Yaounde in Cameroon; Paris in France and N'Djamena in Chad, but there are plans to add further regional links.

In its home market it will offer up to 12 weekly flights between Douala and Yaounde - the country’s main internal link – up to five rotations per week from Douala to the North Province capital of Garoua and up to three to Maroua in the Far North Province. Within Africa it plans to operate up to three-times daily services to Abidjan, Bangui, Brazzaville, Cotonou, Dakar, Lagos and Libreville, although its most significant link will be to Paris CDG, where it will offer six flights per week from Douala, with flights operating via Yaounde in both directions. France is the largest international O&D market from Cameroon with more than 210,000 passengers travelling between the two countries in the year ending January 2011.

The airline was supported in its launch by Lufthansa Consulting, who were commissioned by the Government of Cameroon to advise the country on the setting up of the carrier in 2009. During the project, a team of experienced specialists from the German aviation consultancy conducted a thorough and extensive market analysis and drew up a detailed business plan for the start-up.

“Lufthansa Consulting devised a plan to introduce the necessary measures and also provided implementation support in selected areas. Under the terms of the consulting agreement, the experts were also entrusted with the task of recruiting candidates for the key management functions in the new company. Furthermore, the consultants developed a comprehensive product and strategy concept and as a result of this, performed commercial training measures for the carrier’s cabin crew members,” it said.