Equatorial Congo Airlines SA, operating as ECAir, was an
airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
headquartered in
Brazzaville; it was the
flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations.
Hi ...
of the
Republic of the Congo. The airline suspended all operations on 10 October 2016.
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 were provided by
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
-based VIP business carrier
PrivatAir. and thus ECAir avoided being included in the
list of air carriers banned in the European Union
The European Union (EU) publishes a list of air carriers that are banned from entering the airspace of any of its member states, usually for failing to meet EU regulatory oversight standards. The first version of the list was published in 2006, ...
, which applied to 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
The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft.
Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...
. It took delivery of a second
Boeing 737-300
The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft.
Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...
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
Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...
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
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
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.
[ch-aviation.com - ECAIR Congo suspends operations over ASECNA debts](_blank)
24 October 2016 PrivatAir, which operated several routes on behalf of ECAir, also ended all services for the airline.
ECAir was reportedly looking to restart operations in the first quarter of 2019.
In late 2020, plans to scrap some of their planes were also revealed.
Corporate affairs
Head office
ECAir had its corporate headquarters at ECAir House, Maya Maya Airport, Brazzaville.
Ownership and structure
Since its creation, ECAir had been 70% owned by the
Government of the Republic of the Congo
Politics of the Republic of the Congo takes place in a framework of a unitary semi-presidential republic, whereby the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government, of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive pow ...
, 15% by the seaport of Pointe-Noire and 15% by Heli-Avia company. To launch the airline, the Government engaged
Lufthansa Consulting
Lufthansa Consulting is an international aviation consultancy for airlines, airports and related industries. The company is an independent subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group and provides services to the air transportation industry worldwide. The h ...
, which managed the complete start-up process preparation, and developed a five-year business plan, including future network and fleet structure for the new airline. From the outset, all cockpit crews and some cabin crews and technical support for ECAir were provided by
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
-based carrier
PrivatAir. After Lufthansa Consulting was phased out, the airline obtained specialised consultancy services mainly via the Swiss 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 been published, and the main sources for business information are press releases and reports. According to Swiss journalist Marc Renfer in an article published on official media, ECAir lost over 450 million Euros between 2011 and 2016.
Destinations
Fleet
Current Fleet
As of December 2017 the Equatorial Congo Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
Former fleet
As of October 2016, the ECAir fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
References
{{Authority control
Defunct airlines of the Republic of the Congo
Airlines established in 2011
2011 establishments in the Republic of the Congo
Organisations based in Brazzaville