Ivorian carrier, Air Côte d'Ivoire, has treated its top ten travel and tourism agents to an evening dinner to foster closer working relationship between the airline and its key stakeholders.
Micheline Yahot, Country manager of the airline said the top ten agents, drawn from across the country, have been instrumental and the airline’s growth over the last one and half years
“We hosted the top ten travel agents in Ghana to congratulate them on the good job they are doing. In Ghana the traffic is coming mostly through travel agents. Th.0ey are able to take risks which we don’t take. They control about 70 to 80 percent of our business. So we have to cherish them,†she said.
The Port Bouet Airport based airline re-started its operations in the country in January 2013 with offering to about 13 destinations within the sub-region via Abidjan. The airline now offers six flights per week out of Accra to Abidjan with on-ward connection to about 18 destinations
It also offers five flights per week to the Benin capital, Coutonou . “We put our customers first and that is why we offer direct flights from out hub in Abidjan to over 18 destinations in the sub-region. The load factor is very good compared to last year. There has been a lot of progress. The load factor has grown and we are progressing.â€Â
Air Côte d'Ivoire operates three Airbus A319 and an Embraer E-170. Micheline Yahot said: “I think it’s our services and our customer relationship, our products and what we’ve put in place for the West African market. “
Rajesh Tilwani, General Manager, Satguru Travel and Tours Service Limited said: “We are number one travel agents for Air Côte d'Ivoire and we rarely have complaints about delays, cancellations or lost of luggage, so we are very confident to sell the product to our client.
“We are fully confident when we sell the product. The fares are competitive, the connections in Abidjan is not too much, you get to Abidjan by 10am by 11:30 you have a connecting flight. When there are problems, the management of Air Côte d'Ivoire are ready to assist.
Glory Brisbane, Generally Manager, Stellar Travel, told the B&FT that : “ name change tells us that they do better business now. They have learnt from the past and business is much better. The country manager is always available to address our concerns.
They now offer a wonderful service. We try to get feedback from our clients and so far we have had positive feedback from them. In the past it was difficult to travel within the West Coast but now they offer a good travelling option for customers.
Air Côte d'Ivoire was set-up in 2012 as a public-private company after then Ivory Coast’s flag carrier, Air Ivoire, went bankrupt. It operates flights to and from various destinations in west and Central Africa.
By Dominick ANDOH| thebftonline.com| Ghana
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