Cabo Verde Airlines has gone through turbulent periods during the pandemic, but it is now slowly resurging. Before Covid-19, the company had Boeing 757-200 aircraft in its fleet, operating flights to destinations in America, Europe, and Africa, including the northeast of Brazil and Porto Alegre.
The company’s idea was to turn Cabo Verde into a connecting hub in the middle of the Atlantic, but that changed with the coronavirus. Now, the company renews its commitment to connect the country to high-demand destinations with the arrival of a more modern, efficient, and longer-range aircraft, as reported by our affiliated media, Aeroin.
Their first Boeing 737 MAX, registration D4-CCJ, was delivered in 2019 to Comair, a South African subsidiary of British Airways. This aircraft, in fact, became one of the major problems for the South African company, which no longer flies today.
Days after the aircraft arrived in Johannesburg and started commercial flights, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed, marking the second fatal accident with that model, leading to the total grounding of all MAX aircraft worldwide.
The model was only authorized to fly more than a year later, while the pandemic was still at its peak, and Comair couldn’t survive the crisis generated by the coronavirus and did not receive any more 737 MAX aircraft.
Highly restrictive measures in South Africa also affected the company, leading to its closure last year. However, it made headlines again this year after suing Boeing for fraud in selling planes with issues that caused accidents.
The only MAX aircraft was returned and stored until Cabo Verde chose it to be part of their fleet. Today, the aircraft flew from the Californian desert in Victorville to Providence, a US city with a large Cape Verdean community, and then made a direct 7-hour flight to Praia, where it will be based.
“This is a significant moment for Cabo Verde Airlines. With the addition of the Boeing 737-8, we continue to expand our fleet to pre-pandemic levels,” said Sara Pires, Cabo Verde Airlines’ CEO and president. “The delivery of an airplane with the capabilities of the 737-8 allows us to meet the growing travel demand to our archipelago country at the crossroads of four continents.”
Anbessie Yitbarek, Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing for Africa at Boeing, said that «the 737 MAX family is perfectly suited for Cabo Verde Airlines to serve prominent markets in Africa, Europe and North and South America, providing it with enhanced capability and flexibility across its network. The 737-8, with its versatility and fuel efficiency, will support Cabo Verde Airlines’ goal of competing to win back market share».
There is currently no defined date for the company’s return to flying to Brazil, but it is expected to happen this year, as previously indicated.
Cabo Verde Airlines Flights
Cabo Verde Airlines’ flight schedule for July includes flights connecting Lisbon and Paris with Praia, Sao Vicente, and the Island of Sal, averaging about 20 weekly frequencies each way.
Before the outbreak of the pandemic, the company also flew to Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Porto Alegre, Lagos, Boston, Washington, Rome, and Milan.
