Camair-Co (QC, Douala) has signed a support agreement with Boeing Consulting wherein the American firm will help finalize a turnaround plan for the loss-making carrier.
During the signing ceremony in Yaounde last week, airline CEO Jean Paul Nana Sandjon said Boeing would first assess a recovery plan that has already been devised by the airline's management modifying it where necessary.
"Together we will prepare Camair-Co's business plan for the period 2016-2019," he told the Cameroon Tribune. "This document will be submitted to the Government for approval before its implementation."
The plan covers the state-backed carrier's investment needs, fleet and route requirements, and estimates of profitability among others. Boeing personnel will also visit the Central African nation on a quarterly basis for the next year and a half to assess adherence to the plan and to assist in upgrading the airline's IT and MRO infrastructure. Overall, Camair-Co is expected to turn cash-flow positive in two-to-three years.
Having secured a XAF30 billion (USD50 million) loan from Pan-African financing house, Ecobank, earlier this year, Camair-Co set about devising a recovery plan, its third since its creation in 2011. Under the current version, Camair-Co will now supplement its sole widebody jet - a B767-300(ER) - with a B777 while acquiring B737 Classics for its regional and domestic operations. The two MA-60s also feature and are expected to make their commercial debut on December 29 on flights between Douala and Yaoundé Nsimalen.
