AIR SENEGAL has kicked off services to the United States. The flag carrier now links Dakar with both New York and Washington DC twice-weekly (Thursdays and Sundays) using a 290-seat Airbus A330-900, 9H-SZN (c/n 1910) Casamance (pictured) operated by wet lease specialist, Hi Fly Malta. While it serves JFK Airport Terminal 1 in the Big Apple, it opted for an alternate Washington gateway instead of Dulles (see Airliner World, July 2021) by flying to the neighbouring Baltimore/Washington. According to Air Senegal, the Baltimore/Washington facility has numerous benefits for its customers, including being “closely situated” to where the majority of the West African diaspora reside in the area, the site being a hub for low-cost giant Southwest Airlines and a plethora of rail connections, such as an Amtrak station offering regional connectivity, along with express train services to the US capital.
Flight HC 407 departs Dakar at 0130hrs before arriving in JFK at 0600hrs local time and, after two-and-a-half hours on the ground, continues on the short 183-mile jaunt to Baltimore/Washington, landing at 1000hrs. The return sortie, Flight HC 408, departs the Maryland gateway at 2025hrs, routing via New York before arriving back in Dakar at 1225hrs the following day.