Cameroon’s national airline Camair-Co has taken delivery of a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, wet leased from Czech carrier Smartwings, as it works to stabilize and expand its network.
The aircraft will be deployed on domestic routes connecting Douala, Yaounde and Garoua, as well as several regional destinations including Bangui (Central African Republic), Brazzaville (Republic of Congo), Cotonou (Benin), Libreville (Gabon), and N’Djamena (Chad).
The flag carrier, which has a mixed fleet, has struggled to maintain stable operations. A Camair-Co official says the aircraft “will solve the connectivity problem we face in the sub-region.”
According to a recent report by the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC), Camair-Co is aiming to expand its fleet from eight aircraft to 18 by 2028, a plan supported by a $168.6 million investment approved by the bank.
Camair-Co’s decision to bolster its fleet through wet-leasing is a response to the ongoing grounding of several of its own aircraft. The Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database shows Camair-Co’s in-service fleet contains a single leased 737-800, two Bombardier/MHI RJ Aviation CRJ900s (with a third stored), a single Embraer ERJ145, two De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s and three Xi’an MA60 turboprops.
