Author: Wole Shadare

 From Spring 2018, customers to choose ‘economy delight, ‘economy classic’ or ‘economy light’ Virgin Atlantic has announced the launch of three new ways to fly economy as part of a multimillion pound investment in the cabin for the 21st century traveller. Recognising that one size doesn’t fit all, from spring 2018 Virgin Atlantic will introduce ‘economy delight, ‘economy classic’ and ‘economy light’ tickets. The three new ways to fly will allow customers to choose the…

  Pilot has 30 years’ experience Dana Air said it welcomed recent audit ordered by the Federal Government, saying it was willing to work with the team and the FG to demonstrate its commitment not just to flying but to flying safe. Spokesman for Dana Air, Mr. Kingsley Ezenwa in a statement noted that the pilot of that flight is a happily married man and a proud father of three beautiful children.  He is said to have…

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has released the preliminary report for the on-going investigation into the serious incidents involving Delta Air Airbus A330-223 aircraft with registration N858NW, which occurred after take-off from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on February 13, 2018. The Bureau also released the preliminary reports on the accident involving the DANA Air MD – 83 marked 5N-SRI that overran the runway at the Port Harcourt International Airport on March 5,2018 and the…

The low fare ticketing prices are not sustainable for airline operators despite huge population that are not taking to flying. WOLE SHADARE writes   Liberalisation The year 1990 was a landmark one for the airline industry. It was the year airline liberalisation was introduced in Nigeria. Following the liberalisation, many airlines set up operation across the country and started to challenge the dominance of traditional full service carriers like Nigeria Airways. This translated to better…

  The last few months had been herculean for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) as there were so many cases of security breach. First was the allegation of poaching of aircraft, which started late last year. This transcended beyond that to cows resting on the runway of the Akure airport in Ondo State. Under intense pressure to prevent people from runways and planes at some of the country’s airports, particularly the Murtala Muhammed…

 With the retention of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) category 1 status, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has assured that Nigerian registered aircraft will continue to enjoy the privilege of flying directly into the United States air space without hindrances. Nigeria scaled the hurdle of the audit of the safety status of the country’s civil aviation industry recently, making it to obtain, yet again another Cat-1-Status. The retention of the Cat-1-Status is coming barely…

Nigeria’s flag carrier airline, Arik Air and Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) have signed a  Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on capacity building which empowers the airline to assist in imparting proficiency and line training for the PAF’s pilots.   According to the terms of the agreement, Arik Air shall provide pilots of the Presidential  Air Fleet rated on the aircraft Line Training and hour building to maintain proficiency on  the aircraft, including undertaking regular commercial flight under supervision, as per  the standards approved for the airline.   The agreement was signed Thursday last week when the…

Supports children living with cancer   Dana Air has announced its partnership with Global Image Foundation, A non-governmental organization based in the US on free medical surgical –dental mission for the underprivileged in Uyo, from 5th -9th  of March, 2018   The airline in a statement said it would also fly a team of 20 doctors based in the US from Lagos to Akwa Ibom state for the mission, which will include providing quality care, conducting several…

America conveys letter to Minister, NCAA Nigeria has again scaled the United States highest aviation safety hurdle, aviation category one status. The US apex aviation regulatory body, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had visited Nigeria late last year to carry out audit on the country’s aviation and to see if the nation had closed all gaps it noticed when the team visited. A top official in the Ministry of Transportation confirmed to wole shadare news…

Airbus has commended Ethiopian Airlines, the largest aviation group in Africa, on its acquisition of the first African A350XWB simulator.   Ethiopian Airlines took delivery of Africa’s first Airbus A350XWB jetliner in 2016.  It currently operates seven A350XWBs and has 17 more on order.  “The A350XWB Full-Flight Simulator is a valuable asset to Ethiopian Aviation Academy and strategically positions the airline, and Ethiopia, as an A350XWB training centre of excellence.    Once again, Ethiopian Airlines has shown…