Intro
Have you ever had a travel day where it feels like everything just goes wrong? Allow me to introduce this review of how a simple 50-minute flight turned into a 14-hour travel day. With delayed flights, canceled flights, being stranded on the side of the road outside of Dakar, and much more, this is a fun review.
There is a lot to unpack in this review. However, if I can provide a quick synopsis of this flight with Air Senegal, it would consist of three aspects. 1). The ground service is horrendous/non-existent. 2). Why on earth does their business class cabin have unlimited pitch? 3). Once onboard, the renovated A321 is quite a nice ride.
Let's get into this…
Routing
Flight routing
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- 6HC205-Economy-Dakar-Nouakchott- Airbus A321
How I Booked
There are two main options when it comes to flying between Dakar and Nouakchott. You have daily service from Air Senegal and service from Mauritania Airlines. However, Mauritania Airlines might just be the most unreliable airline in the world, and with prices in line with each other, I chose the more well-known airline, Air Senegal.
My ticket, booked two weeks in advance, came out to 198$ one-way. As fate would turn out, the Mauritanian Airlines flight was canceled that day, and my flight was delayed for an extended period of time.
Getting To Dakar Airport
Now, the fun of this review begins before I even get to the airport. Seeing as this was my first time flying out of Dakar, I decided to leave for the airport around 2 pm (4.5 hours before said departure).
After grabbing some pastries, I checked to see how long it would be to get to Blaise Diagne. An hour and 24 minutes? Are you taking the mickey?
With 19,000 CFA left to my name, I decided to try and bargain down the price of a taxi to fit my budget. I flagged a taxi down and asked, "How much to the airport?"
He kindly let me know, "6,000 CFA". Umm, that is really cheap, I thought, but said alright, let's go.
Well, the driver decided to take the backroads, presumably not to pay the tolls. It took about an hour due to the horrendous traffic around the outskirts of Dakar until we hit a roundabout. However, once we were at the said roundabout to enter the freeway to the airport, he decided he wanted 50,000 CFA, or he would drop me at the side of the roundabout. He was surprised when I said "airport".
I didn't have 50,000 CFA, nor am I paying 50,000 CFA. Absurd. So I stepped out and waited on the side of a roundabout with my luggage, attempting to flag down a taxi.
With no luck and 3 hours until departure, I just started laughing. Sometimes, you can view a situation as bad or just say, "It is what it is, and everything is as it should be."
That is when a man approached me, asking if he could help me out. He spoke English very well and flagged down someone driving a regular car to drive me to the airport. He did all of the negotiations, and I managed to end up in a car with a random guy who had a gold tooth and a gold necklace (a really cool guy, my type of vibe when I was a bit younger).
This man who helped me asked for my contact details, and still, to this day, I remember him. Additionally, he will occasionally reach out, asking how I am, not wanting anything in return. It is people like this that bring me faith in humanity. Truly an amazing soul.
20 minutes later, we arrived at Dakar Blaise Diagne Airport. In the end, it all turned out okay, thanks to this guy on the side of the road who helped me out.
Check-In (1)
Once I arrived at the airport, it was about 4:15 pm in the afternoon. Perfect right? Since the flight is scheduled to depart in two hours and 15 minutes.
Before entering the area to check in, one must first pass through a security check. Interestingly, this was a "random check," and once they saw my US passport, they didn't check my bags.
As it would turn out, the flight had been delayed until 9 pm, and thus, check-in had been delayed until 6:30 pm. Well, I can't go back to Dakar, now what?
The best option was to stick around the airport, grab some food, and do some plane spotting.
Interesting to see a Lion Air plane parked up at Dakar.
Check-In (2)
6:30 pm came around, and they informed us that check-in had been delayed again.
To 7:00 pm.
To 7:30 pm
To 8:00 pm
And eventually, at 8:30 pm, the agents let us line up for check-in. The check-in process was extremely quick for me since no visa was needed for Mauritania, and I had no bags to check.
Next up came immigration and security. Comparatively to the arrivals process, this was night and day. 10 minutes tops.
As If It Couldn't Get Worse…
With our scheduled departure time now midnight (5.5 hours late), I had about 3 hours to kill at the airport. If you happen to like pizza, they have an amazing pizza place in the terminal that I highly recommend.
It's about 10$ for a pizza, but it's actually top drawer.
As I was sitting down and enjoying my pizza, I got a notification from Mauritanian Airlines (do not fly this airline) that my flight to Zouerat had been canceled the following morning.
It was critical that I made it to Zouerat that day, as I was on a time crunch due to an overloaded East African schedule. I had to quickly make other arrangements to get up to Zouerat from Nouakchott, but wow, this was infuriating.
Heading over to the gate at 11:30 pm, I encountered no plane! At this point, I am not even surprised that there is no plane.
I quickly spoke to the gate agent, who informed me that they didn't work for Air Senegal and they had no idea when the inbound plane would arrive. Air Senegal, Dakar is your hub, and you don't have gate agents for your airline??? Sometimes, you just have to laugh it off.
However, it wasn't all bad news. I ended up meeting two fellow New Yorkers at the gate who have since become quite good friends of mine. In addition, they were supposed to be on the same Mauritania flight and riding the same train from Zouerat-Nouadhibou as me. When I informed them that the flight was canceled, we ended up sharing a ride to Zouerat.
12:30 am came and went. This was getting ridiculous. Are we going to fly? The only way to check was to leave the gate area and walk over to the manager's office. Seeing as I didn't want to re-screen my bags, I left them with security.
Never in my life have I just simply walked behind the check-in desk and into the manager on duty's office. Absolutely hilarious. Thankfully, he informed me that the plane had just arrived and we would be boarding soon.
Boarding
Enough backstory; let's talk about this flight, huh?
Boarding eventually commenced at 1:15 am local time, and to say the whole crowd was relieved was an understatement.
Once onboard, I think the crew was just as tired as the passengers, to be honest. Embarking on a 41-minute red-eye at 1:15 am is not for the faint of heart.
The Seat/Cabin
Stepping onboard and turning right, I found a couple of rows of business class on this Air Senegal A321. For starters, I have to wonder how they turn a profit on this plane operating business class with the pitch that it has.
This has to be almost double the size of any other narrowbody business class I have seen. Then again, I am not sure if anything about this airline makes sense.
My seat was 7A for today, about 4 rows back from the start of the economy. Seeing as there were 25 people on the flight tonight, it didn't really matter where I sat.
The cabin felt quite fresh. The seats were comfortable, and the legroom was okay. Compared to their A319, the A321 was very good once onboard.
Legroom
Even a little USB plug at every seat. Hey, I needed this to charge my phone for the 900km drive later.
Departure
By 1;20 am, boarding was wrapped up. Yes, we boarded an A321 in 5 minutes, as it seemed everyone just wanted to get on their way. However, the captain came on to announce that the plane had a quote on quote, "a flat tire."
This is the point where you just laugh. I mean what else can you do.😂
By 1:45 am, we had pushed back, and we were wheels up to Nouakschott, on a less than 250-mile flight.
I could have driven from Dakar to Nouakchott and back in 14 hours…
Meal Service
Another pleasant aspect about Air Senegal is that they provide a suitable snack. Within 15 minutes after takeoff, every passenger was offered a muffin and a sandwich. While there was no choice, you were also able to request soft drinks/water/soda.
I didn't eat the sandwich or muffin, but it seemed edible from the outside😅 (I was half asleep when they offered it; otherwise, I would have declined).
IFE+WIFI
Unfortunately, Air Senegal is another area that needs to be seriously improved. For an A321 fleet that can operate flights over 4 hours long, Wifi and IFE need to be offered. Having none on this fleet is a big letdown.
But,,, what was with this remote on the middle armrest?😮.
That brings me to the last point: service. I don't think there is a need to write much about this part as the cabin crew was rushing to get this bird on its way. They did the best they could to dish out a meal and get everything wrapped up in 40 minutes.
Arrival
20 minutes after takeoff, the captain announced our initial descent into Nouakchott.
He expected "an on-time arrival" (I'm just joking. He didn't say that).
We ended up touching down at 2:24 am onto the singular runway that Nouakchott has. Not bad, Air Senegal, only 7 hours and 4 minutes late👍.
Once we pulled up to the Royal Air Maroc 737, I became one of those people who ran to the front. For one reason: I had to be in Zouerat by midday…
I'll touch on the visa process in a separate post so I can provide more detail for everyone looking to go…
Welcome to Country 93; we have made it to Mauritania! Seriously, they need to do something about the toilets in the airport as what the heck is this??
Mauritania Tourism Bonus
I came here for one reason: to ride the iron ore train. I will touch on the train in the next FR, but for this, I'll show you some pics of the 800km drive from Nouakchott to Zouerat.
We slept in the back of a 4x4, riding through the Saharan desert in the back of the 4x4. Exhilarating stuff.
Unreal, and a gobsmacking country.
Everntually, we made it to Atar.
Picture was asked to be taken and agreed by the man…
Enter text here…
We ate some camel for lunch, and kept going up on out way to Zouerat.
Except, there was a camel in the road? So much for traffic in New York, try beeping at a camel😂. He/she just would not move at all…
But eventually, we made it Zouerat, 14 hours after departing from Noaukchott airport. Considering I hadn't slept in about 27 hours, I was exhausted…
With that, I leave you with a little tourism bonus of the iron ore train. Stay tuned for the return flight if you are interested in reading about the iron ore train experience. 18 hours on top of a train filled with iron ore… The most unreal sunrise, and memories I will never forget.
Hi, Jettoajet.
Sparing myself the time to read this on my commute down.
Hotly anticipated the sequel in your intra-Africa reports, and clearly this one did not disappoint!
Look at the shelf of alcoholic beverages behind the counter! Surprising to see, considering Muslim-majority nations like Malaysia and Indonesia don't even serve alcohol so openly at their bakeries. I would've helped myself to a vodka and ask for OJ to make my own Screwdriver, generally my preferred pre-flight drink.
As one does. You didn't ask the hotel (or Airbnb?) for help booking a ride back to the airport? You're way too spontaneous for your own good 😉
Hello, Lion Air A330neo! I came across some YouTube clips of Lion Air operating their A330neo on behalf of flynas for special pilgrimage flights. They must've just come from Jeddah/Medina or about to head there. I wonder if the A340-300 is also a hajj charter flight, or if it's part of a government fleet?
You didn't set yourself up at an airport hotel? I mean, if there is any? I can't see myself waiting that long at an airport not Changi, Incheon, or Tokyo.
I was told by an Indonesian railway enthusiast that the bogies for the freight cars were made in Indonesia. I think it was a refurbishment sort of thing. I love trains (heck, I'm on one now), but I don't know if I can bring myself to take the famous iron ore train. I suppose I'll chalk it down to "if I had someone to keep me sane", because there's no way I can bear doing it solo, especially because there are no lavatories on board!
I'm a little curious as to why the delay was so lengthy. Insufficient aircraft in fleet? Bad crew management system? Guess we'll never know! Maybe your gold-toothed friend has a better idea 🤠
Thanks again for the F-R! Looking forward to read about your experience aboard the iron ore train
Hi Razza_Pr, thanks for your comments and reading😀
ooo, is it a long commute? Do you tend to usually read FR's during your commute?
The biggest shock to me flying around Africa (yes I'm generalizing the continent here) was how leniet they are with alcohol at the airports. Almost (almost) everywhere you can just check into your flight while enjoying a beer (did it yesterday ha). It certainly was surprising to see the availability of actual liquor and alcohol behind a bakery! A screwdriver doesn't sound quite nice, interesting to hear you are vodka person🤔 has that always been a thing?
Unfortunately, I tend not to think more than a few hours in advance about where I'm staying or how I am getting to the airport. I live by a dangerous motto "it will all work itself out".
Well, my question has been answered so thank you for that. Also curious about the generic A340 🤔
The problem with Dakar Blaise is that the nearest hotel is about 15 minutes away. I didn't want to take that risk as too many times I have seen a flight become "undelayed", plus I was trying to watch my budget for this trip since it's already so expensive. Truly is brutal, Changi airport would have been a lot better but even still you are right, it is a long delay.
Once again, you teach me something new ha. Taking the iron ore train is a magical experience but certainly has some interesting parts to say the least. It's certainly not like the ordinary train, as you mention no lavatories. There is a passenger car in the very back which I believe has lavarotories, but then you don't get to sleep under the stars.
😂😂😂😂
Thanks again for your comments Razza, and have a lovely day!😀
Oh - my - god! What an adventure! Yes, as you say, the best thing you can do in some circumstances is laugh. That taxi driver can f*ck himself. Thanks to the man who helped you get to the airport. He showed that not everyone in Senegal is an assh*le.
There must be technical reasons why airlines deliver information in dribs and drabs, but there's an app called tripcase that usually lets me know about delays well before the information is given to the passengers.
So glad you eventually made it to your destination in one piece 😅 Well, this is how the best memories are made, and the best reports are born!
Thanks for sharing!
[Edited by Pilpintu on 19/11/2024 19:15:27]
Hi Pilpintu, thanks for your comments!
Truly was, and sometimes it is just the best thing to do. Especially when you expect stuff to not flow so smoothly. 😂
My gosh, thank you for telling me this, am going to download it right now! Does it work with all airlines? Guess I'll find out soon!
Thank you! Completely agree, when things don't go as planned, are when the best memories are formed
Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!
Yikes, how crazy not to have their own ground staff at their own dang hub! That's just madness. That horrendous delay and how poorly it was handled--or not handled at all--really sucks, but on the bright side it's cool to discover this aircraft on a rarely reported airline (much more reported in French but still not super common to see).
The cabin interior is a pleasant surprise. The Y cabin seats are obviously former Thomas Cook, which they clearly kept around, but it's nice they made the effort to add USB ports! And whoa, that Business class is crazy spacious...almost impractically so. They could have had another row in there and it would still be super spacious. I can only assume they decided keep the seat count low on purpose for flight staffing purposes to have one less cabin crew maybe.
Thanks for sharing this exotic review!
Hi Kevin, thanks for your comments!
I actually wonder/cannot comprehend how it is possible for HC not to have employees at their hub. Madness as you say.
After the next report, this will be the first and last time I'll review a narrowbody on HC (unless I have to get to friggin Mauritania), that is for sure.
Interesting, so Thomas Cook didn't have USB ports before?
As you mention it must be for keeping the seat count low, as it is so impractical that passengers could literally put down a mat and start doing Pilates or Yoga. 😂
Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day!
Hello, thank you for this very interesting flight report. Sorry to read about your taxi adventures in Dakar and the huge delay - I had shorter delays when flying Air Sénégal from FNA to DSS and from BJL to DSS. Next time you go to Mauritania try to go Chinguetti - an oasis town in the Sahara with a fascinating history.