The national flag carrier of the Cape Verde Islands Cabo Verde Airlines is planning a winter expansion that will include a flight to Washington D.C.

Formally known as TACV, Cabo Verde Airlines is a small airline that serves around a dozen destinations in Europe, the Americas and Africa.

Despite its small size, Cabo Verde Airlines has managed to rack up a large amount of debt according to aviation website One Mile at a Time, who claims they were desperately seeking investors.

Cabo Verde Airlines and Icelandair

Icelandair saw an opportunity with the island nation airline and entered into a 12-month management contract.

This year Icelandair took an even bigger step and acquired a majority 51% stake in the airline. They hope to develop a hub and spoke operation in Cape Verde similar to their business model in Reykjavík.

Where are the Cape Verde Islands?

To understand how the system would work, you must first realize that Cape Verde Islands are ideally located as a stopover between the Americas and West Africa. Flying time is six-hours from Brazil and 1 hour and 20 minutes from the Senegalese capital of Dakar.

The Cape Verde Islands are located 570 kilometers (350 miles) west of Senegal in the central Atlantic Ocean.

Remaining uninhabited until being discovered by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, the Cape Verde Islands served as a stopover for the Atlantic slave trade during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Cabo Verde Airlines to fly to Washington Dulles International

Currently, the only destination in the United States that Cabo Verde Airlines fly to is Boston Logan International in Massachusetts. Starting December 8th, Cabo Verde Airlines will fly 3x weekly to Washington using one of their two Boeing 757-200s.

The schedule for the flights are as follows:

• VR692 Ilha do Sal to Washington departing 8:00 AM arriving 12:45 PM
• VR693 Washington to Ilha do Sal departing 7:45 AM arriving 6:40 PM

The westbound flight to Washington will operate on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with the return flights to Ilha do Sal on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

In total, the flight will cover a distance of 3,600 miles and will have a flying time of 8 hours and 45 minutes when flying to Washington and a shorter 6 hours and 55 minutes on the return leg to Cape Verde.

As well as Washington flights, the airline is introducing flights to the Portuguese speaking counties of Brazil and Angola. The new Washington flights are already on sale at travel agents with tickets starting at just over $600 round-trip.