Airbus A330neos To Be Seized?

Airbus A330neos in Air Senegal’s fleet are at risk of being repossessed amid growing concerns about the airline’s financial situation.

Labelled by many as an ongoing financial crisis, investment bank Bpifrance has initiated legal proceedings to recover two Airbus A330neo aircraft delivered to Air Senegal.

The significant move comes as Bpifrance helped finance these widebody aircraft for the airline, but concerns are deepening over its financial position.

Until payments on these types of leases are complete and new agreements are reached, Air Senegal doesn’t own the aircraft, leaving the financiers in a position of ownership. However, repossession is now a genuine reality beyond the airline’s control.

Overdue payments have been a concern for some time regarding the A330neo, among other ongoing financial concerns, and, with that, outstanding amounts for other fleet types as well.

Even earlier this year, in June, two of the airlines’ Airbus A321s were grounded. This grounding occurred after Irish leasing firms, which were responsible for these aircraft, sought additional payments that were late.

If the widebodies were to be removed from the fleet, even though they are currently grounded, the impact would be quite considerable, given that these jets were earmarked to help elevate the airline’s long-haul operation moving forward.

However, the airline would argue that it has much to figure out for these A330neos to return to service, including payments to be made and the airline being in a more sustainable financial position. But with debt ballooning, it has ultimately been hard to thrive and move forward.

With a recent order for the 737 MAX, there are question marks over the airline’s future, but optimism from some close to the business that things will improve; those on the outside question the decision-making, given just how poor a position the airline finds itself in.

The Air Senegal Airbus A330neos

Air Senegal only ever took delivery of two Airbus A330neo jets, those registered as 6V-ANA and 6V-ANB. The modest fleet, however, never quite experienced what the airline had hoped.

The first unit was delivered to the carrier in March 2019, making it the first A330neo delivered to an African carrier and bringing the state-of-the-art widebody to this part of the world for the very first time.

Air Senegal planning to fit the cabin with 32 business-class seats, 21 Premium Plus seats, and 237 Economy Class seats. The company, at the time, confirmed that it intended to deploy the jet on service between Dakar and Paris.

The airline’s first Airbus A330neo, registered as 6V-ANA, has been stored in Rome since 10 March 2025. The aircraft was previously registered as 9H-SZN and operated by Hi Fly Malta.

However, with future aircraft, the airline was very hopeful of also developing its medium to long-haul network, leveraging this widebody to its advantage, and the delivery of 6V-ANB was expected to bring the company forward once more.

The second unit was delivered to the airline at the end of November 2019, ferried to the airline’s home at the beginning of December. However, the aircraft was then stored in Dakar in August 2025, where it has been grounded.

These two aircraft have been parked for different reasons: one is currently undergoing maintenance and the other is experiencing technical issues. The Air Senegal fleet is therefore already affected, even though these planes have not yet been repossessed.