In a little over two weeks, Cape Verde-based carrier Cabo Verde is set to resume operations. The carrier’s operations have been suspended since March 2020. The first service to resume will be the airline’s four-hour flight to Lisbon (Portugal) from Sal Island.
“We are excited that we can finally resuscitate the airline from the ashes of the pandemic. The beaches of Sal, the unique restaurants and the warm and hospitable cape verdean people will welcome guests back to a destination truly different from all others. This is just the beginning, and we are looking forward to creating a better future”, -Erlendur Svavarsson, CEO of Cabo Verde Airlines
Reservations available now
The first service being reintroduced is a once-weekly flight between Sal Island and Lisbon, operating on Fridays. “The resumption will be gradual, connecting the archipelago through the hub in Sal,” the airline adds.
With flights set to resume on June 18th, the airline states that reservations are available online now. In fact, Cabo Verde says that it is making use of a new passenger service system that will “make the company more agile.”
The new passenger service system, named HITIT, is touted by the airline as “a modern platform with an integrated sales, operations and accounting solution,” and “a new technology that will increase the efficiency and reliability of customer service.”
Increased frequencies and destinations from late June
From June 28th of this year through to March 28th, 2022, Cabo Verde Airlines says it will operate the following services:
- Four weekly flights between Praia/Sal and Lisbon on Fridays and Mondays;
- A weekly flight to and from Sal/Praia/Boston on Tuesdays( with return on Wednesdays);
- And a weekly flight to and from Sal/São Vicente/Paris on Saturdays (with return on Sundays.)
Cabo Verde Airlines further adds that, depending on the rate of vaccination and the unblocking of international borders, new frequencies and additional destinations may be launched. However, this will only take place if pandemic conditions permit.
14 months on the ground
While some operators, such as Qatar Airways, operated steadily throughout the crisis, other airlines had to suspend their services completely due to bans on international arrivals and international transfers or simply a lack of demand. For most, this was a relatively short period of time, but for others, the downtime has lasted over a year. Cabo Verde Airlines belongs in the last category, having not operated since March 2020.
The airline says that it has taken advantage of this “forced stop” to “reorganize itself, train its teams and implement a new sales system.” This system will allow it to automatically notify passengers of all flights in progress. Indeed, it is something that the airline calls “a huge investment in customer experience that is expected to be fruitful to make the company more agile and reliable.”
With travel plans abruptly canceled for many last year, the airline notes that it has a rebate program for unpaid flight vouchers, allowing for travel to be scheduled up to three years after the date of issue.
Have you ever traveled to Cape Verde? Is Cabo Verde Airlines a carrier you’d be interested in trying? Let us know in the comments.
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