An Air Congo Boeing 787-9 landed in Kinshasa on Wednesday, after a delivery flight of more than 12 hours from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The plane belongs to MIAT Mongolian Airlines, Mongolia's national airline, and Air Congo is leasing it as the young Congolese airline tries to grow beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo and reach Europe.
Last month, Contrail reported on the airline's growth and its plans to build out its network. This plane is the next step, and the way Air Congo is getting it says a lot about the obstacles in its way.
Why Air Congo Is Borrowing Planes
Every airline certified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is banned from flying to the European Union, under the EU's air safety list. That's a big problem for an airline that wants to connect Kinshasa with Brussels and Paris, two of the biggest destinations for Congolese travelers.
Air Congo's way around it is to have airlines that are allowed into Europe fly for it. Its Kinshasa–Brussels flights have been operated by Ethiopian Airlines, which owns 49% of Air Congo, using an Ethiopian plane and crew. The new 787-9 is reportedly coming under a similar arrangement, called a wet lease, in which MIAT supplies the plane along with the crew, maintenance and insurance. The full terms haven't been made public.
The Ethiopian Airlines 787 that Air Congo has been using on its Brussels flights is reportedly set to return to Ethiopian, with the new 787-9 taking its place.
Why lease? Airlines certified in the DR Congo are banned from the EU, so Air Congo uses planes and crews from airlines that can fly there. No schedule announced yet.
The Plane
The 787-9, registered EI-MGL, is about seven years old, which is young for a long-haul plane. It was flying MIAT's regular routes to Frankfurt, Seoul and Tokyo as recently as last week, and it reportedly spent last winter on lease to Gulf Air before returning to Mongolia in March. It already has Air Congo's colors on its body, though parts of its old livery remain. Government and airline officials were at the airport in Kinshasa to welcome it.
According to Belgian aviation site Flightlevel, the plane is expected to fly Air Congo's routes to Europe, mainly Brussels and Paris. Air Congo hasn't announced a schedule yet.
What It Means for Travelers
For now, not much changes. Air Congo still has to confirm when the 787-9 enters service and which routes it will fly. What passengers get on board, including what the business class seats look like, will depend on how MIAT's cabin is set up and how consistently Air Congo runs the service.
The bigger picture is that Air Congo is putting real effort into long-haul flying, and borrowing planes and crews is how it can move fast while the EU ban stays in place. Whether it can fill those planes, and keep the costs of leasing under control, will decide how far this goes.
