Business

Why Nigerian carriers can’t compete-NANTA President Despite the tough economic situation in the country last year that affected the purchasing power of many, Nigerians still embraced air travel as ticket sold by foreign airlines in 2017 was more than N200 billion higher than in 2016. In 2017, air travel still recorded ticket sales of N511 b ($1.4) from January to October 2017. The 2016 tickets sold as released by Nigerian Civil Authority (NCAA) put earnings of…

as CBN releases $145m to carriers    Foreign airlines that had over $600 million funds trapped in Nigeria since two years ago can heave a sigh of relief as only $30 million is left to be offset by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Last August, the country’s apex bank released $425 million out of $600 million trapped funds, leaving $175 million in the coffers of CBN. And between August 2017 and January 2018, the government released…

  Airbus closed out 2017 with orders in December for 841 jetliners – the highest monthly intake in company history, and delivered 127 aircraft during the month – also marking an all-time high.  The new business at year-end was composed of 828 bookings for Airbus’ best-selling A320 single-aisle family in both its NEO and CEO versions; along with 13 A330s, eight of which will be produced in the A330-900neo configuration, and five A330-200s to be…

The airline partnership between Dana Air and the Imo state Government have started yielding benefits with the recent unveiling of a multi-million naira sponsorship deal with Heartland football club of Owerri Imo state.  The season-long  sponsorship deal which is part of the airlines’ support to the newly-promoted Imo state based team’s 2018 league  campaign,  will see the airline get shirt sleeve branding and lots of other branding opportunities with the club. Speaking at the unveiling…

Nigeria’s oldest airline, Aero Contractors has had its fair share of crises that almost led to the extinction of the once flourishing airline. Smart moves by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), creativity brought to bear by astute airline administrator, Capt. Ado Bayero Sanusi to head the airline culminated in the historic roll out of the successfully conducted B737-500 C-Check in Nigeria. WOLE SHADARE writes that this could be the beginning of the airline’s revival to…

US, China, Europe’s navigation services struggle with efficiency Pax charges on one-way ticket doubled in decade The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac said there is the need for reform in tackling aviation infrastructure, adding that the sector is headed for infrastructure crisis. In a post on his Blog, he expressed worry that many of the world’s airports are operating at or beyond their design capacity, stressing that…

Aero Contractors completion of a C-Check of one of its B737 aircraft last week could be the beginning of good things for airline operators as the facility could help save Nigerian airlines over $20 billion in offshore maintenance. Managing Director of Aero, Captain Ado Sanusi, said that the aircraft would be rolled out of the hangar this week, stressing that he was satisfied with the capacity that the organisation has built, highlighting plans to build…

From January 8, 2018, South African Airways (SAA) disclosed that it would operate wide-body aircraft on its Johannesburg-Mauritius route. According to the carrier, the Airbus A330 generation aircraft will offer a two-class cabin configuration, with increased seat availability. Business class will range from 36 to 46 seats and economy class from 186 to 203. The A340-300 has 38 seats in business class and 215 in economy class. SAA currently serves the Johannesburg-Mauritius route with an…

2017 traffic projected to be slightly lower than 2017 There are indications that the country may record lower passenger traffic in 2017 compared to 2016. This is reflected in a report presented by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) that a total of 9.2 million passengers passed through Nigerian airports in 140,552 aircraft movements between Jan. and Sept. 2017. In 2015, a total of 15,232, 597 passengers travelled through Nigeria’s airports in 2016. Although, last…