Nigeria’s a resilient market for air transport business, says BA chief
Kola Olayinka is British Airways’ Regional Commercial Manager (West Africa). In this interview with WOLE SHADARE, he talks about how the carrier survived the high operating environment occasioned by the recession that affected businesses. He, however, still sees hope for the airline industry in Nigeria and explains why BA is bringing back its iconic B747 on the Lagos -London route. Excerpts
Have all the airlines, including BA, received all their trapped funds?
I think things are a lot better now. I keep repeating that. We are selling daily. You can’t say they have given us all our money. They can never give us all our money because we are selling daily. As we are talking now, people are booking and paying. We cannot say they have finished paying us.
What were the challenges your airline faced in the last two years?
The challenges first started with the election, how long it took. We then went through the issue of foreign exchange and remitting money became difficult. We, however, now seem to be turning the corners. We are not fully there yet. I am sure you know all the figures. I don’t want to brandish the figures again. It was scary because you start talking of $600 million. Things are getting better and we realise we need to bring back the B747 on the Lagos route. We have always operated the B747. The first one we flew was an older B747. The seat configuration for that aircaft was 14 in First Class, 70 in Business Class and 48 in Club World and about 185 in Economy.
This B747 is going to be more refined with Inflight Entertainment (IFE) improved on it. I think we have 120 channels of different movies that you can watch, meals are better, seats are better and that is where the £400 million expenditure on Club World as quoted in the press is going. That £400 million is not just for the Nigerian route but on all our aircraft that we have in Club World That is why we are bringing this on and we are very confident that the customers can only be the better for it. Recently we launched new fares.
We are having fares in the economy for about $440 to London and we are having Business class for $2800 to London. Not only is the product getting better, effective September 7, it is also progressively getting cheaper. It is cheaper and better. It is a very difficult combination. Our customers have stayed with us through this difficult times trying to describe to you from 2015. I can imagine how expensive the fares had been, not because we increased our fares; but if the dollar is at N520 or N500 and the fare was N160, 000 it rose to about N500, 000. So, things are getting better. We are unveiling a new product; so we are launching a promotion and I don’t think there is any other airline that can match our offer.
We are in the middle of summer and we just hope that our customers will take advantage from September. Schools are not resuming until mid-September. People still have opportunity of traffic just like a couple or as a business or individual and that is, we thought we should speak to our very close friends and just let you know what we are doing. You know that our message is always simple, straight forward and about the customers.
We just want to look at your operations in Nigeria. BA is 81 this year, how can you appraise your operations in terms of challenges, the highs and the lows?
Thanks very much. Looking back is always a privilege because if you look back on the route. I started many years back and you can imagine how many bosses I have gone through over the years. People have really passed through this place. They built the business, this company. One of our CEO’s came into Nigeria recently. He has retired. He is Keith Williams. The top things he said is that service is in our DNA. Service is part of us. It is what we do. That is what keeps BA going. If you lose service, you lose everything. I am not saying that we are perfect all the time, but I can tell you that when something goes wrong that is when you see BA rise up to the challenge. It has been a really good journey all these years. If you take a look at our operations, it has always been about the customers. The aviation industry in Nigeria has changed.
There is a lot more competition than 20 years ago. Many airlines were not here back then. The Americans were not here 20 years ago, the Middle Eastern carriers were not here 20 years ago and they are now here in full force. Even the European carriers; some were not here 20 years ago. What was the market that was dependent on new carriers? Almost all airlines from every continent are here in Nigeria. That means the pressure is on making sure you deliver as a company. We are happy. Competition is good. When there is competition, the customers benefit like bringing out this promotion. Some of my colleagues will be jumping up because of it because the customer is the better for it. Let the best man win on the day; that is what business is all about. It is not about protecting any one, it is about letting the best airline that offers the best fares, best product, best people win at the end of the day. I must also add that Nigerian travellers are extremely intelligent. You can’t fool them.
Maybe you can fool a person but you can’t fool everybody. If you sell something to them that they don’t like, they won’t come back. The era of taking the customers for granted is over. We are at an era where customers know more about aircraft than some of us.
Technology has also helped. All you need to do is go online and everything comes out. If you want to see the inside of a plane, it is there on the website even on our website. We adore our customers.
We realised that without our customers, there is absolutely no business. It might take some time but your business will be eroded if you are not doing enough for your customers and that is one of the strength I think BA has. We know our customers love us, they love the service but we are never going to take them for granted which is why we are bringing back the B747.
One unique thing about the B747 is that the upper deck; there are some people in Nigeria, what they want is go on the upper deck. It is quiet, beautiful, nice, serene and you feel like you are in a world of your own and people love it and it is coming back.
One unique thing about the B747 is that the upper deck; there are some people in Nigeria, what they want is go on the upper deck. It is quiet, beautiful, nice, serene and you feel like you are in a world of your own and people love it and it is coming back.
I am surprised that BA is bringing back the B747 and it is coming at a period airlines are using more efficient, fuel efficient two engine airplane. The B747 is a fuel guzzler and it is also a period Jet A1 is an issue, why is BA coming back to this aircraft?
Generally across the globe, aircraft are getting newer. We have the A380. We have 12 of those. They are in service. You can see a progression in aircraft acquisition all over the world. We may not be as aggressive as some other airlines but we equally have these newer versions and you can see new things happening. B747 was not manufactured yesterday but the services will all be brand new including the interior.
The seats will all be brand new, the IFE will all be redone and it is brand new. Yes, there is some cost to it but we also believe that if you look at our fares out here, our customers pay quite a bit and we want to make sure they get value for their money to compensate them for what they pay because all these years. Like I said, they deserve some benefits from the money they are spending whether it is a man that employs 10 people that are supposed to have a meeting in London or is a family that just want to go for summer with their children without breaking the bank especially with what is happening in the country now.
If for a period of time you offer them some flexible fares, I think it makes sense and then you can keep them. We don’t want a one customer business, we want customers that keep coming back because when we get it right for them, give the right fares, the right product.
Is this aircraft just for this summer or going to be a regular plane for the London-Lagos route?
It is going to be here, not just for the summer.
Does it also mean that traffic is improving with more people taking to air travel compared to last year and 2015?
Let’s be very honest as a Nigerian looking at this economy almost everybody is rationalising. Let’s take it from the family unit. Sometimes I say to the kids you are not going for summer this time; this is what I can afford. Everybody is doing that.
The small businesses need to travel. Business is still transacted not on the phone but by shaking hands and no matter how much you use technology, you cannot do without shaking hands. You have to be there to sign the deals. Children who are in school must come home. The school will close. They can’t sleep on the street. It is an indication that things are getting better.
How many airlines do we have operating into Nigeria?
Look at the size of our Billing Settlement Plan (BSP). They are in billions. We have over 32 airlines on the BSP platform today. A few left. One of mine left but a majority are still here. Let me tell you, if we are not doing very well, we won’t be here. Nigeria is a resilient market. We have the numbers, we are resourceful. We are not like some African countries when you get on the airplane, the people you get to see are other nationals but on Nigerian routes, the people you see are Nigerians and a few other nationals. We are smart, we are travellers.
Anywhere you go in the world, you will always find a Nigerian. I once travelled to Seychelles and as we landed, I was telling my wife that there cannot be a Nigerian here. Lo and behold, the taxi driver that came to pick us was a Nigerian. He was a black man so we thought he could be from another country but not a Nigerian.
We were coming from Kenya, It was Kenya Airways, so he thought we were Kenyans, but when we told him we are Nigerians-he screamed and said we are brothers. He was working in the Ministry of Lands there. He said he is a professor. He was the one selling all their lands. This is an island where they do not wear shoes. We went from the state capital to a place called Ladik. People were walking with bare feet. We are adventurous, smart and resilient. Nigerians really travel.
