Ibom Air projects N150 billion revenue for 2025, says CEO

• Meets travel partners
• Why delays, cancellations dangerous for airlines   

The Chief Executive Officer of Ibom Air, George Uriesi, has again lamented the difficulties airlines face that lead to flight delays, rescheduling, and cancellations, explaining that being an airline in Nigeria is extremely challenging and dangerous for the growth of the carriers.

Flight delays in Nigeria are indeed causing serious problems, reaching a point where they are being described as taking on a dangerous dimension.

Several factors, including operational inefficiencies, aircraft scarcity, and adverse weather conditions, are contributing to a surge in flight delays and cancellations.

These disruptions are not only inconveniencing passengers but also raising concerns about safety and the overall reliability of the Nigerian aviation sector.

This comes as the carrier is projected to increase its revenue to N150 billion in 2025 from N95 billion in 2024, indicating that Ibom Air is growing organically and positioning itself as an airline with the potential to revolutionise the airline business in Nigeria.

Out of the N96 billion profit made,  six per cent came from travel agents across the country, according to the airline chief.

Speaking at the airline’s travel agent forum held in Lagos at the weekend, Uriesi disclosed that to mitigate the problem of flight schedules and cancellations, the carriers had decided to keep an airplane on the ground to take care of the situation, adding that doing that itself brings a huge cost to the carrier.

The forum brought together travel agents across the country with a view to taking the aggregate of their complaints with a view to repositioning the carrier to be profitable and to offer seamless air travel to Nigerians.

He said, “Being an airline in Nigeria is dangerous. When an aircraft from your fleet is out of service,  that scatters your schedule. Our strategy is to offer on-time reliability. 97% of our morning flights is done. Every delayed or cancelled flight is very painful for us”.

Uriesi gave an instance of heavy rainfall in Uyo at the weekend that disrupted flights, but noted that the airline is working assiduously to minimise the twin problems of flight delays and cancellations that become emblematic of airline operations in the country.

“We keep an aircraft redundant, and that carries heavy weight and huge costs on us. You have to pay for insurance and every other thing that keeps costs rising.”

He further stated that Ibom Air had concluded plans to expand its operations to Malabo, Equitorial Guinea, Doualla, Cameroon and Sao Tome and Principe from its state-of-the-art terminal in Uyo, Akwa Ibom which intends to be its hub, adding that after completion, the facility is expected to be the best in the country where it operates to key international destinations.

Speaking on the carrier’s ambitious plan, he reiterated that it plans to join the Global Distribution System (GDS) by October 2025; a key instrument to interline and expand with other global airlines.

A Global Distribution System (GDS) is a computerised network that acts as a central reservation system for the travel industry, connecting travel agencies with various travel providers like airlines, hotels, and car rental companies.

It allows travel agents to search, compare prices, and book flights, accommodations, and other travel services from multiple providers in real-time.

Uriesi was confident that Nigeria can replicate the tremendous work of African regional carriers, ASKY, Africa’s biggest airline, Ethiopian Airlines,  Air Côte d’Ivoire, among others, that have strategically positioned for the burgeoning Nigerian market.

“It takes discipline and determination to run airlines like Ethiopian Airlines, ASKY, RwandAir, Air Côte d’Ivoire, and others are cleaning up the market, and we need to respond. They night-stop in Nigeria. ASKY’s passenger traffic was around 100,000 but has grown to I.5 million passengers. That is remarkable.”

“We need to start responding to the market. We believe that there is room for improvement. We can do it.”.

He assured that all the challenges travel agents were having with doing business with the carrier would be handled to maintain a good business relationship with their travel partners.

Wole Shadare