Page 38 - World Airnews Magazine April 2020 Edition

AFRICA

THREE NEW AIRLINES,

COMING TO NIGERIA

By Samson Echenim

United Nigeria Airlines is said to be owned by Obiorah Okonkwo,

the chief executive officer of Abuja based The Dome Entertainment

igeria’s domestic air travel market is on the cusp of ex- Limited, and there are indications that it will start operations this

Nperiencing the biggest explosion in recent history of any month with five aircraft.

aviation market in the world, reliable sources within the industry Two weeks ago, Green Africa Airways ordered 50 A220s jets
have said. from Airbus, the European plane maker, worth over (US) $4 bil-

The explosion is being envisaged on the back of the nearly-ready lion, in a deal that now stands as the largest aircraft purchase by
entrance of three new airlines that they say should happen this any African airline.
year, starting as early as June and one of the new airlines is ex- The airline will become not only Nigeria’s, but Africa’s biggest

pected to begin operation with 50 Airbus A220 aircraft, or at least by fleet. With Air Peace, Nigeria’s biggest carrier operating a fleet

hitting that high figure in its first year of operation. of 23 planes, Green Africa Airway’s capacity by fleet will be more

The other two airlines are bringing in five aircraft each on the than double that of Air Peace.
average. This number will add to the existing 40 planes currently The new airline also agreed to lease three Airbus A220s from

operating in Nigeria’s domestic market. Irish-based lessor GTLK Europe.

With about 100 aircraft in the country’s travel market, where less It will introduce the three Pratt & Whitney PW1500G-powered

than five percent of citizens are able to afford air travel, analysts twinjets by August this year. The carrier said they will ‘bridge the

are already pointing to this development as a potential factor that gap’ until deliveries of its own A220s begin in 2021.
could drive down air fares. Green Africa chief Babawande Afolabi said the company has
The new airlines, which sources close to the development have secured funding “backed by some of the best players in the indus-

secured their Air Operator Certificates (AOC), are Green Africa try”, stating that it is “anchored” by a group of individuals including
Airways, United Nigeria Airlines and Value Jet. former American Airlines chief Tom Horton and Kuramo Capital
Emeka Nwobu, a tour service company owner that if the planned head, Wale Adeosun.

introduction of 60 aircraft into the local air travel market materi- The airline will be commencing operations ‘on a high’ as a result

alises, there was bound to be a shakedown in fares, which would of the lease, said GTLK Europe chief Roman Lyadov.
benefit travellers and lead to more people having to afford air travel. “It is a good development for the country, even though it could

“It is something big, so big that the market will have a burst,” create cold shivers for existing airlines. In every free market,

Nwobu said. competition is a key element and that is what brings fairness into

“With 60 aircraft coming into the Nigerian travel market that is the market. I talk of fairness in terms of willingness to improve
150 percent the size of existing market capacity. Fare rates could service on the part of airlines and the opportunity of choice for the

as well go down by same percentage, or at least 100 percent,” said consumer, the travellers. It should not cause any airline to pack up,

Nwobu, CEO of Ethos Travel Services. except such airline does not mean business in the first place,” said

Industry sources have revealed that Aerokeys had undertaken Ikechukwu Udeze, an aviation industry analyst.
the training of United Nigeria airline’s crew and that the airline will “Airlines already in the market are even at advantage. If new

start operations with Embraer 145 50-seater regional jet. airlines are willing to take the risk, to join the competition,
World Airnews | April 2020
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