Cabo Verde Connect Services eyes late 4Q20 launch

Cabo Verde Connect Services is planning to commence operations on December 2, 2020, connecting Praia with Lisbon using Airbus narrowbody aircraft chartered from Azores Airlines (S4, Ponta Delgada). The virtual start-up is backed by its namesake travel services provider, which, in turn, is linked to Azorean tour operator Newtour. In a statement to Portuguese newswire Lusa, Cabo Verde Connect Services said that it would initially use either an A320-200 or an A321-200NX chartered from Azores Airlines to operate weekly flights between Cabo Verde and its former colonial capital. Azores Airlines planned to launch in-house Praia-Lisbon operations in late October 2020 but eventually dropped the plans. Going forward, Cabo Verde Connect Services plans to expand its network to include services to other European cities, such as Paris, as well as Boston, the largest destination for Cabo Verdean diaspora. The airline also hopes to enter the domestic market in Cabo Verde. Cabo Verde Airlines (VR, Sal Amilcar Cabral Int’l) has been commercially inactive since March 2020. The airline, partially owned by Loftleidir Icelandic (Reykjavik Keflavik), had plans to turn Sal Amilcar Cabral Int’l into an intercontinental hub connecting Africa, South America, North America, and Europe prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but the ensuing crisis has cast doubt on the carrier’s survival. With the flag carrier dormant, Cabo Verde sees no scheduled flights besides a limited number of leisure routes from Europe. Domestic services in Cabo Verde are currently exclusively provided by TICV – Transportes Interilhas de Cabo Verde (3B, Praia), formerly known as Binter CV, the ch-aviation capacities module shows. Azores Airlines, which will be operating Cabo Verde Connect Services flights, has a similar strategy of establishing a transatlantic hub at Ponta Delgada, capitalising on the archipelago’s location between Europe, Africa, and North America.