Virgin Atlantic unveils ambitious 2018 plans for Nigeria

• Nigeria, land of immense opportunity, says Lindfield

Virgin Atlantic Airways has expressed its appreciation to Nigerian for their support of their daily service to London over the last sixteen years.

Virgin Atlantic has enjoyed a very successful 2017, which leaves the airline optimistic and ambitious for 2018 and beyond for operating from Nigeria.

The carrier is about to embark on a further significant program of investment to the fleet, with the introduction of the A350-1000 from early 2019.

This aircraft, the airline said will offer a superlative level of customer experience, a 25 per cent reduction in fuel consumption versus equivalent aircraft, and ambient mood lighting to reduce the effects of jetlag.

When combined with the brand new 789-9s and modern A330s, Virgin Atlantic will boast one of the youngest and most fuel efficient fleets in the sky.

Beyond the program of fleet renewal, Virgin Atlantic have introduced a number of customer-focused initiatives, which help us better give back to the communities we serve in Nigeria.

These include inflight Wi-Fi connectivity between Lagos and London, a revamped Upper Class food and beverage menu, free chilled bottles of water on arrival and free luggage trollies for all passengers arriving on Virgin Atlantic in Lagos.

These initiatives all form part of the focus on offering bespoke service to our Nigerian passengers, on one of our flagship routes.

The year 2017 saw Virgin Atlantic collaborate with British Council ‘Enterprise Challenge’ winners, Nasir Yammama and Sophia Uno.

Virgin Atlantic and The British Council launched the Enterprise Challenge in 2014 to help budding Nigerian entrepreneurs reach for the skies. The competition provides a platform in Nigeria for young, brilliant entrepreneurial minds to develop their commercial skills and businesses.

Nasir and Sophia were the faces of the entrepreneur advertising campaign recently run in Nigeria. Sophia Onu also took part in the Virgin Atlantic ‘Business is an Adventure’ series, offering unrivalled levels of exposure to her growing business, The 5K Shop.

Both entrepreneurs received mentoring sessions from Sir Richard Branson himself. Our support of Nigerian entrepreneurs demonstrates the commitment to be Nigeria’s airline of choice for business.

Mr. Samuel Lindfield, Head of Nigeria at Virgin Atlantic said, “With many analysts now projecting Nigeria’s population to reach 500m by 2050, we see Nigeria as a land of immense opportunity.

 “A growing population will create new opportunities for domestic and international business. We look forward to leading that growth, by facilitating air travel from Nigeria to the World and by supporting Nigerian communities and businesses at their core”.

“We have certainly built a rich tapestry of experiences, history and tradition over our sixteen years flying to Lagos from London, carrying in excess of three million passengers. We look forward to adding to that rich tapestry over the next sixteen years and beyond”.

Wole Shadare