Dubai Air Show: Air Cote d'Ivoire signs for Bombardier Q400s

At list prices, the initial contract is worth $69 million, or $141 million if the two options are exercised.

Riven by internal strife over the past decade, the West African nation has embarked on a programme of national reconstruction. Air Cote d’Ivoire has been charged with rebuilding both domestic and regional routes, from Dakar in the west to Kinshasa in the south.

The airline, which began operations in January, has a fleet of two Airbus A319s – a third arrives next week – plus an Embraer E170; the Brazilian aircraft will be replaced by the Bombardier turboprops (Chalet A1) on services to eight domestic destinations and others around the region.

The two Q400 NextGens will be delivered in August and September 2014. A decision on whether to take up the options will be made by November next year, said Air Cote d’Ivoire CEO René Decurey.

“We were looking for an aircraft able to accommodate our passengers in a certain way on a domestic network that has been closed for 15 years,” said Decurey. It needed to have a standard suitable for international routes within a two-hour radius of Abidjan, the national capital, but also have the ability to operate from unpaved runways.