Private aviation in Cameroon has reached new heights with the arrival of Fly ZeJet, the first scheduled airline under private law in the country's history. Led by Cameroonian visionary Christophe Semengue, a former Air France executive, Fly ZeJet has quickly established itself as a key player in the industry, offering high-end services and an unrivaled flight experience. In this article, we will explore in detail the exceptional journey of Christophe Semengue, as well as the impressive achievements of Fly ZeJet in one year of activity
Christophe Semengue’s academic career says a lot about his passion for civil aviation. In 1996, he graduated with a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA or equivalent BAC +5) in Fundamental Physics, obtained at the University of Sciences and Technology of Lille in France. Then, in 1997, he joined the Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Engines of Paris, where he obtained a specialized engineering diploma in 2000, with the title of Petroleum and Engine Engineer, option Application of Petroleum & Energy Products. The same year, Christophe Semengue also obtained a Master of Science Degree from the Institut Français du Pétrole and Mc Gill University in Canada.
These academic predispositions logically opened the way to the professional world. In the French Air France KLM group, in particular. After 10 years of professional experience in air transport within this group, he attempted to obtain an Executive MBA "Major In Aviation" at HEC Paris, with a dissertation thesis, a project to create the company under -regional ZEJET. Which he will achieve with flying colors.
Professional career of Christophe Semengue:
Christophe Semengue is a Cameroonian with extensive experience in the air transport industry. After spending more than ten years at Air France KLM at the company's headquarters in Roissy Charles De Gaulle, where he held various positions of increasing responsibility, such as Business Analyst, Project Manager and Program Director in various sectors of activity such as as Aeronautical Maintenance, where he was responsible for the regulatory monitoring of the company's so-called ETOPS Boeing 767, Boeing 777 and Airbus A310 fleets, with the implementation of an innovative system for monitoring aircraft parameters, a system adopted by the manufacturer Boeing, for its new generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, Air Operations where he was responsible for the implementation of the regulatory monitoring system for the company's pilots and pilot instructors, i.e. nearly 6,000 Technical Flight Personnel, Commercial where he was responsible for the merger of the Air France and KLM sales forces as part of the Air France KLM merger and finally, Marketing where various important missions were entrusted to him.
he then joined the American group Verizon Business as a Senior Consultant in the Governance, Risk and Compliance practice. As such, several strategic missions have been entrusted to him in various CAC 40 groups, both in the luxury industry, banking, the service industry and the hotel industry. With his expertise and his passion for aviation, he always nourished the desire to create a private airline in Cameroon.
History of the creation of the ZeJet company by Christophe Semengue
In 2003 the engineer studied the implementation of a training solution for pilot crews in Cameroon with a French partner, and in 2004, he launched a study on the establishment of an aeronautical maintenance center in Cameroon with a Canadian partner, and goes to Calgary in this context (Canada)
In 2007, he drafted a business plan relating to the establishment of a category 3 operation, with various partner operators and aircraft manufacturers, and in 2008, reserved the ZEJET domain name. A decisive turning point which will lead, in 2009, to the creation of a business plan with operations based on the EMBRAER ERJ-145. This airline creation project will be the subject of a research dissertation for an Executive MBA “Major In Aviation” at HEC Paris.
The year 2009 will mark the signing of an NDA relating to this project with a financial partner, and in Christophe Semengue meets the Cameroonian authorities on the sidelines of the ICAO General Assembly in Montreal (Canada) to inform them of his project to create an airline in Cameroon. After this contact, another contact, the second, will take place in 2016, with the Brazilian manufacturer EMBRAER.
His enthusiasm for this major project will lead him in 2009 to update traffic and market data in order to seek opportunities for aircraft acquisition. He will therefore make contact with the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) and sign an agreement with the future aircraft seller, after having carried out a technical and financial comparative study of the aircraft best suited to the ZEJET project.
In January 2020, he entered a decisive phase with the filing of the initial statutes of the company ZEJET as founder with the Société Civile Professionnelle G. D. MBOUDOU AHANDA, C. C. NGUINI MESSINA and J. A. KWA-MBETTE. The deed establishing the statutes of the said company was registered on June 10, 2020 Vol. 03 Folio 788, Case/Bd 6409, then modified according to directory Number 31.024 of February 17, 2021.
In the same vein, Christophe Semengue contacted the CCAA in February 2020 for a request for an air transport ticket for the benefit of the company ZeJet. Then in April 2020, it opened negotiations with the seller for the acquisition of the ZeJet fleet. These negotiations continue until the finalization and signing of the aircraft sales contract.
The ZeJet-FLY ZeJet brand will be filed in June 2020 with the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI) in France, and in October 2020, it signs an agreement in principle with GTC SARL for its entry into the capital following a partnership agreement signed on October 15, 2020.
A few steps will follow, marked in particular, in February 2021, by the validation of the administrative investigation into the promoter (Christophe Semengue), in accordance with article 100 of law 2013/010 of July 24, 2013 governing the civil aviation in Cameroon by the General Delegation for National Security. Another decisive turning point in February 2021, GTC SARL integrated the capital of ZeJet, then in August 2021, the National Social Security Fund (Cnps), integrated the capital of ZeJet.
It was on December 8, 2021 that the very first aircraft of the ZeJet company landed in Yaoundé, in accordance with the certification process which requires having at least one aircraft of its own. After this compliance, Christophe Semengue will launch, from February 2020 to December 2022, a certification procedure for the company ZeJet, with obtaining the Air Operation License, on October 12, 2022, and obtaining the Air Transport Certificate , December 12, 2022. It is only from this date that the company is authorized to carry out its operations.