NIGERIA: Green Africa Airways Orders 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8 Aircraft,Largest Aircraft Order In Africa

Nigerian start-up Green Africa Airways has today confirmed a commitment for up to 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, split into 50 firm orders and 50 options.

The deal is worth an estimated $11.7 billion at current list prices, making it the largest Boeing aircraft order from an African carrier.

The announcement comes in as the airline begins to finalize proceedings to launch commercial operations.

Babawande Afolabi, Founder, and CEO at Green Africa Airways said that Today is a historic day for the Nigerian and African aviation industry, this landmark deal takes us much closer to our long-held dream of building a world-class airline that will unlock a new realm of positive possibilities for millions of customers.

This deal is a bold symbol of the dynamism, resilience and soaring entrepreneurial drive of the next generation of Nigerians and Africans, he added.

Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Green Africa Airways has been established with the goal of providing quality and affordable air travel and to be a significant contributor to the economic development of Nigeria and the African continent.

The Nigerian carrier has recently been awarded its AOC from the Nigerian authorities.

Helped by a group of industry professionals, led by Tom Horton, former Chairman/CEO of American Airlines; William Shaw, Founder and former CEO of VivaColombia; and Virasb Vahidi, former CCO of American Airlines, the Nigerian startup has a group of knowledgeable and successful experts behind it.

Both Horton and Vahidi were responsible for bringing American Airlines out of bankruptcy, re-launching the carrier, introducing its new corporate identity, and welcome its first Boeing 777-300(ER) into service.

Vahidi said that Nigeria is uniquely positioned to be the home of the next major value airline. The strategic partnership with Boeing positions Green Africa Airways to expand and improve air travel for customers in Nigeria, and further strengthens the relationship between the United States, Nigeria, and Africa.

The airline has plans to develop the Nigerian market with the goal of building up a strong Pan African network.

In Boeing’s 20-year Commercial Market Outlook, it forecasts that the airline industry in Africa will require 1,190 new planes, as the continent continues to grow both intra-continental and intercontinental connectivity.

Ihssane Mounir, SVP of Commercial Sales and Marketing at Boeing Company, added that “The growth potential for air travel across Nigeria and Africa is extraordinary, with the airplane fleet expected to more than double over the next 20 years.”

We look forward to Green Africa Airways building their fleet with the MAX and taking advantage of the jet’s efficiency and dependability to open new options across Nigeria and the African continent.

Boeing will be a trusted partner to Green Africa Airways as the MAX is introduced into their operations and through their long-term success, he said.

The news today come in a week where Boeing has celebrated many firsts for the 737 MAX program, with Eastar Jet taking delivery of the first Korean 737 MAX plane and with Boeing completing its first aircraft at its new China completion facility.

Earlier in September, Nigerian carrier Air Peace also booked an order for 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in Lagos. The deal was valued at $1.17 billion.

With both orders combined, the Nigerian market is set to receive 110 brand-new 737 MAX planes over the next few years—revamping an industry that has needed an injection of fresh machinery for a very long time.

Today marks yet another successful landmark for the 737 MAX program, putting an end to a year that has had its ups and downs with hundreds of sales and the Lion Air accident that took the lives of 190 people in Indonesia.


Tourism Observer

NIGERIA: Air Peace Orders 10 Boeing 737 Max 8 Aircraft From Boeing

Boeing and Nigerian airline Air Peace Ltd. have unveiled the first publicly announced deal for 737 jets since July at a signing ceremony in Lagos.

The deal is for an order of 10 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets. The agreement is valued nearly $1.2 billion at list prices.

We are excited to add the 737 MAX to our fleet as we expand our network to offer more destinations and serve more passengers, said Allen Onyema, Chairman and CEO, Air Peace Limited.

The fuel efficiency and superior operating economics of the 737 MAX will ensure that the aircraft will play a major role in growing our business in the years to come. Air Peace Chairman and CEO Allen Onyema said in a Boeing news release.

Africa is a growing market for commercial airplanes and we are proud that airlines like Air Peace are selecting Boeing aircraft to be part of that growth, said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing for The Boeing Company.

This order reflects the strong demand that we are seeing for the 737 MAX as airlines choose the airplane’s superior performance and reliability.

Boeing 737 MAX series is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, accumulating more than 4,700 orders from 102 customers globally.

Boeing 737 Max 8 model has a list price of $117. 1 million. Boeing said the single-aisle jet offers airlines more seats than its Airbus A320 rival, as well as 7% lower costs per seat and 300 more miles of range.


Tourism Observer

NIGERIA: Sorry Nigerian Government, You Must Always Stand By Nigerian Airlines

One of the major challenges being suffered by Nigerian airlines is lack of government support.

Whereas other countries easily negotiate Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with the Nigerian government for their airlines, Nigerian carriers always find it difficult to get approval from other countries to operate to their airports.

While Nigeria's rising domestic carrier, Medview Airline had got approval to fly to Dubai, which it slated to start in July, but the ground handling company, which is owned by the state and enjoys a monopoly in Dubai had told the Nigerian carrier that it would not have a slot to handle it at the Dubai airport, so it could take its operations elsewhere.

In other words, because the handling company cannot earmark a time to provide service to the Nigerian carrier, it cannot operate to Dubai.

About a month ago, the European Union blacklisted the same airline along with others in Africa and Asia and stopped it from operating to London with Nigerian registered aircraft, prompting it to wet lease aircraft from European Union based airline to operate to London.

Also about five years ago, Arik Air was stopped from operating Abuja-London flights, when UK airport authorities told the Nigerian carrier that it does not have slot for its flights from Abuja, so it had to only operate Lagos-London flights, which was seven times a week, while its UK counterpart British Airways was operating daily flights from Lagos to London and from Abuja to London.

Also Virgin Atlantic Airways was also operating daily flights from Lagos to London. So in total, two UK carriers were operating 21 flights weekly to London, while the only Nigerian carrier was allowed to operate seven fights weekly to London with 14 frequencies as allocated in the BASA between Nigeria and the UK unutilised.

When the then Minister of Aviation, Senator Stella Oduah protested and wanted to retaliate by stopping British Airways flights from operating to Abuja, the British Prime Minister then called the then President Goodluck Jonathan, who quickly stopped Oduah from barring BA's operations to Abuja.

At the end of the day, Arik was stopped from operating to London from Abuja. And it was the Nigerian government that allowed that to happen despite the fact that in the BASA signed between the two countries, both countries could allow 21 flights weekly for their indigenous carriers.

While UK strategically stopped Arik to curb competition for BA, Nigeria ignored the spirit of reciprocity that govern international diplomacy and allowed UK to cut down the operation of Arik.

While the Nigerian government eagerly welcomes foreign airlines to Nigeria, other countries whose airlines operate into Nigeria usually refuse Nigerian carriers from operating to their countries in order to protect their own airlines by curbing or eliminating competition.

The Chairman of Air Peace, Chief Allen Onyema told journalists recently that the airline was refused request by Togolese government to operate to that country until he threatened court action.

The letter he wrote to Senegal to approve its flight operation to that country was not responded to. But these are countries in West Africa, which see Nigeria as the biggest market in the sub-region and which are given BASA approvals by the Nigerian government.

Industry observers accused the Nigerian government of complacency and indifference to the well-being of Nigerian carriers and said that while other countries support their airlines and protect them; the Nigerian government seem detached from the problem of its indigenous carriers.

Travel expert, Ikechi Uko said that without government's support, airlines cannot succeed; whether the airlines are owned by government or by private investors; that government's support buoys such carriers to success when government opens diplomatic doors for its indigenous carriers.

An Airline official commented that Nigerian government has a misconception that because the indigenous carriers are owned by private investors it does not have any obligation towards the airlines.

Government has to realise that it must have to support Nigerian airlines for them to do well. We are not asking for intervention fund; we are asking for support in the sense that government should be conscious of the fact that if a country refuses a Nigerian airline entry, government should also reciprocate and make it clear that any Nigerian airline that is dealing with another country or organisation of another country is representing Nigeria.

We are flag carriers of Nigeria; it is not only national carriers that should be protected and support by government, the operator said.

Also a senior official of Medview noted in a recent interview that if Medview is not operating to London the fares from Lagos to London would have doubled by BA and Virgin Atlantic Airways this summer, but it still hovers around 500 pounds.

They bring this politics to eliminate competition so that they can fix exploitative fares and milk our citizens.

With Medview operating to London they do not have the privilege to hike their fares and this is what they are scheming to do if they succeed in stopping Nigerian airlines. This is what government should understand and take it as its responsibility to protect our own. There is nothing wrong protecting your own, the official said.

An industry observer alleged that Emirates might have used its ground handling company to stop Medview from operating to Dubai and noted that there was a time Emirates was operating daily flights to Abuja and twice daily from Lagos but immediately our economy entered into recession, they withdrew their Abuja-Dubai flight and also stopped one of their daily flights from Lagos.

You can bet that when the economy rebounds they will come back and the Nigerian government would give them quick approval. They were encouraged to treat Medview the way they did because they are aware of what BA did with Arik and knew that the Nigerian government did nothing to protect its own carrier.

Very sorry for Nigeria Airlines!!!!!!

NIGERIA: Dana Air Collides With Bird Mid-Air, Returns To Murtala Muhammed Airport II, Lagos.

A Dana Air aircraft en-route Port Harcourt on Friday morning, made an ‘air return’, some minutes after take-off from the Murtala Muhammed Airport II, Lagos.

The aircraft, with registration number 5N-SRI returned after colliding with a bird mid-air.

Kingsley Ezenwa, Communications Manager of the airline, confirmed the incident in a statement.

Mr. Ezenwa said the captain took a professional decision by returning to the Lagos airport.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft that is airborne and as per standard safety procedure which is the hallmark of our operation, our pilot returned to base.

Our guests have however been put on another aircraft to ensure that their itinerary is not entirely disrupted.

The aircraft is currently being evaluated by our engineers to determine the effect of the bird strike on its affected engine,he said.

The manager also assured Dana Air’s customers that the airline would continue to give priority to their safety and comfort.

The General Manager, Public Relations, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Sam Adurogboye, told NAN that the air return was a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward occurrence.

Mr. Adurogboye said the pilot acted according to Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs), as such the incidences should not be sensationalised.

The pilot did the right thing by returning to base.

The aircraft had already lost one engine as a result of the bird strike and the standard practice is that the pilot should land at the nearest airport.

Once such incident occurs, it is mandatory for the airline to make a report to the NCAA, he said.

Mr. Adurogboye also restated NCAA’s commitment to the safety and security of Nigeria’s aviation sector.

This is the third incident recorded by the Nigerian aviation sector in the last 72 hours.

An Aero Contractors flight NG316 en-route Lagos, from Port Harcourt, was on Tuesday engulfed in smoke about 20 minutes after take-off, causing panic among the passengers.

Similarly, two aircraft belonging to Air Peace were on Thursday involved in a ground collision at the General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.

Meanwhile, Less than 48 hours after an Aero Contractor aircraft was engulfed in smoke while trying to land at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, another accident occurred at the airport on Thursday when two aircraft belonging to Air Peace collided while trying to manoeuvre their way around the tarmac of the local terminal.

The Air Peace spokesperson, Chris Iwarah, said that the collision occurred around 6.15 a.m. when its B737 aircraft with registration number 5N-BQR had “partial contact” with another B737 aircraft with registration number 5N-BQP.

Although the points of contact of the two aircraft were only slightly impacted, we took the cautious decision to declare them unserviceable to enable proper investigation of the incident, checks and repair by our Engineering and Maintenance Department in line with our high safety standards, Mr Iwarah said.

There were no passengers on the two aircraft involved in the incident. We have also revised our flight schedule to cater to our esteemed guests on the 14 sectors the two aircraft were scheduled to service today.

The spokesperson of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, denied that the incident was a collision. He said the wings of both aircraft merely grazed each other.

What happened was that one aircraft was packed. The other aircraft was trying to taxi and the wings of the one coming in touched the wings of the one on ground, he said.

If two airplanes collide, they will be on fire. But the two aircraft were both on ground and they have to repair the damage and we have to check them all over again before they can be cleared to return to service, he said.

When asked if Nigerians should be concerned about safety efforts put in place following Thursday’s incident, Mr. Adurogboye dismissed the concern.

He said accidents happen everywhere in the world and that Nigeria is not an exception.

When you use a machine, assuming you drive a car, even the one you packed in the house, when you want to use it there will be an issue with it. Every machine you are using there are bound to be issues. The same thing applies to aircraft.

There is nowhere in the world there are no issues. It is only in Nigerian that we report incidences. There are incidences all over the world. Aircraft drop off in the U.S. every week. So, to say because of three incidents, it should call for concern. We have 500 landings in MMA alone.

Thursday’s incident is similar to an incident in July 2015 when two Airbus 310 aircraft belonging to FirstNation brushed each other’s wings at the airport.

NIGERIA: Crew Member Suspendended For Testing Positive To Marijuana

An aviation crew member has been suspended by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, for testing positive to marijuana.

The crew member, whose identity wasn’t revealed by the agency, tested positive during random alcohol and drug tests on licensed aviation personnel, conducted by the agency.

A statement signed by the General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, said the agency conducted the test in compliance with a directive from the Director-General, Muhtar Usman, after issuing a circular to stakeholders in the industry.

According to the NCAA , 87 personnel from Air Peace , Medview Airline and Air Traffic Controllers of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency were randomly tested as they were about to embark on flight operations and air traffic control duties.

The statement, however, said that out of the 10 pilots and 19 cabin crew from Air Peace Limited, nine pilots and 32 cabin crew members from Med -View Airline, and 10 licensed air traffic controllers and six trainees from the control tower and Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria Centre of NAMA, one crew member tested positive to a psychoactive substance , Tetrahydro-cannabinol, also known as marijuana.

The crew member, NCAA said, was immediately suspended from carrying out further flight operations, adding that further investigations were later carried out to ascertain the quantity of the substance in the urine sample of the crew member.

The crew member violated the provisions of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, the statement said.

The offending air crew has been suspended in accordance with the provisions of Part 2 . 11 . 1 . 8 (f) (i) and Part 2 . 11 . 1 . 7 (c ) of Nig . CARs 2015. His medical certificate and licence have been suspended for 180 days from the 5th day of April , 2017, it added.

Accordingly , the respondent shall cease to exercise the privileges of the licence for the period of his suspension.

In addition, the crew member shall within seven days of receipt of the letter of sanction hand over his licence to the authority’ s director of licensing, and shall undergo a comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation for psychoactive substance abuse during the suspension period under the care of a consultant psychiatrist.

According to the statement, the NCAA will continue to carry out consistent surveillance on the aviation industry to ensure full compliance with extant regulations, adding that failure will attract adequate sanction.

Meanwhile, the statement said the report of the consultant psychiatrist will be reviewed by its consultant psychiatrist adviser, adding that it would enable it to consider possible restoration of the suspended medical certificate and licence.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has imposed an applicable sanction on Aero Contractors Airlines in line with Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations.

This is in response to the airline’s breach of safety regulations when it used a ladder to disembark passengers at the Bauchi airport on Saturday.

In a letter conveying the sanction, the Director General of the regulatory agency, Capt. Muhtar Usman, said the action of the airline in allowing the use of a ladder to disembark passengers from a Boeing 737-500 aircraft in a non-emergency situation, was contrary to its approved aircraft handling manual.

Therefore this is a violation of Part 9.2.4.2(b) of Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, which attracts a civil penalty.

All relevant agencies made useful submissions during the course of the investigation, NCAA said in a statement yesterday.

The director general also said in the letter that “in view of the safety implications of your action you are hereby sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of Part 20.2.3(15) of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulation.

NCAA noted that although the incident did not result in any mishap, the aircraft was airworthy and the crew qualified to operate the flight.

However, it is viewed as a breach and resultantly a fine running into millions of naira has been clamped on the airline to serve as deterrence and to forestall any similar infraction by any other airline operator, the director general said.

In addition, the captain of the flight was fined for failing to comply with the provisions contained in the aircraft manual.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) therefore wishes to reiterate its earlier warning that all airlines should endeavour to adhere strictly to Civil Aviation Regulations, NCAA added.

NIGERIA: Airlines Resume Flights After Scarcity Of Jet Fuel

Normalcy returned to the aviation sector on Wednesday as airlines, which had their operations disrupted over the past few days due to the scarcity of aviation fuel, resumed scheduled flight operations.

In Lagos, passengers who booked for early flights from 6am encountered little or no hitches as their flights took off as scheduled.

When our correspondent visited the General Aviation Terminal at the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport at about 10am, passengers were seen responding to boarding calls from the airlines.

An intending passenger with Air Peace, who gave her name simply as Chidera, said that she was relieved that an end had come to the Jet-A1 scarcity, adding that as a frequent traveller, the few days of disruption had affected her business adversely.

Our correspondent had reported on Wednesday the availability of aviation fuel based on information supplied by oil marketers.

Speaking on the issue, the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr. Yakubu Dati, confirmed that normal flight operations had resumed as scheduled at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja and other airports across the country.

A top official of one of the airlines also confirmed that the aviation fuel supply situation had greatly improved. At about 2pm when he spoke with our correspondent, the officials stated that “so far, all flights have been operated as scheduled.”

He, however, bemoaned the practice of always giving vessels laden with petrol priority to discharge over those carrying aviation fuel, adding that the unavailability of either would have grave consequences on the society.

He advised the government and other stakeholders involved with the discharge of Jet-A1 at the Lagos ports to always be mindful of the negative effects the unavailability of aviation fuel could have on the nation when deciding on the timing and preferences for vessel discharge.

Meanwhile, an early morning blockade by factional members of the Nigerian Labour Congress, led by Ayuba Wabba, and Civil Society Organisations, at the Ikeja end of the road leading to the Lagos airport resulted in heavy gridlock around the airport.

Many air travellers had to disembark from their vehicles and trekked to the airport terminals to avoid missing their flights.

Members of the NLC, the National Union of Air Transport Employees and other civil society groups drawn from the Joint Action Front, Academic Staff Union of Universities and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, among others, gathered at the roundabout close to Forte Oil and Arik Air office. They sang solidarity songs and made anti-government remarks with regard to the hike in the pump price of petrol.

The protesters threatened to shut down the airport totally today (Thursday) to ensure that no flight takes off.

However, the heavy presence of men of the Nigeria Police, Airport Police Command, ensured that the protest did not degenerate into chaos.

NIGERIA: First Nation Airways Secures IOSA Certification

First Nation Airlines, one of the few surviving domestic airlines has secured the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) Certification.

This achievement by the airline brings to three the number of Nigerian domestic airline that have passed IOSA certification.
The other two airlines that had earlier secured IOSA certification are Arik Air and Aero.

However, there are still four domestic airlines that have not secured IOSA certification. They include Azman, Dana Air, Air Peace and Overland Airways.

The attainment of the feat by the airline was disclosed in an online statement signed by the Director, Flight Operations, Capt. Chimara Imediegwu and made available to journalists in Lagos.

Imediegwu stated that First Nation is now the first out of the 10 airlines across the African continent, chosen by IATA in 2014 to undergo the prestigious IOSA certification, to successfully complete the certification process and achieve IOSA registration within the timeline.

First Nation, he stated has joined the elite group of airlines across the globe holding IOSA certification, adding that the fact that the airline was able to attain this certification within record time attested to the airline’s robust structure.

First Nation from launch has assembled young crop of dynamic and motivated professionals which has resulted in the airline building a strong brand with respectable market presence within a relatively short period.

The airline, he said was currently working on aircraft fleet expansion that would see the airline grow aircraft fleet and route network.

Recalled that the 22nd Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Executive Council held on January 25th-26th, 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia endorsed the Abuja Declaration and Associated Plan of Action on Aviation Safety in Africa, making it a requirement for all African Airlines to successfully complete IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification by end of 2015.

IOSA programme is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control system of an airline.

IOSA certified airlines have the highest safety standard worldwide in 2014 and as such IOSA has become a global standard recognised well beyond IATA membership.

The certification will help to enhance African airlines safety and operational standards to world class and in line with industry best practice.

Meanwhile, as at the time of compiling this report, it was not clear if the remaining four airlines would be able to beat the 2015 deadline.

NIGERIA: Why Profitable Flight Operations Not Achievable In Nigeria

How has doing business in this climate been?

We’ve been doing things to promote this economy, and we are not involved in dubious activities. We pray for every other airline everyday. We do not want the not-so-good stories of the past to happen again to any airline. In the last eleven months, we’ve airlifted over half a million passengers with five out of our seven aircraft, and that is very remarkable. Within the same period, Air Peace was called upon to undertake the development of a new route, which is the Kebbi International airport. This has never happened to a new airline in Nigeria. I believe it is because we showed strength, capacity and zeal towards doing the right thing.

Any plan to expand your operational scope to meet domestic needs? of passengers?

We started with five locations and later added Asaba to make it six. But when we discovered Asaba was a dangerous field, we pulled out. We were the first airline to do that because we have zero tolerance to anything unsafe. It was not an easy decision, but it was borne out of commitment to safety, above business considerations. I’m sure other airlines knew that Asaba runway is unsafe. I knew the Easterners wanted Air Peace so badly, but we had to take decision, when one day I flew there in an executive jet and I discovered that my plane was bumping on landing. I called my director of flight operations to refund passengers’ money. I also told him we must stop operations to Asaba. It was a decision taken with every sense of patriotism and commitment to safety. I’m sure it was when I gave a press conference that Asaba was an accident waiting to happen that the Federal Government decided to act. Aviation business is not all about making money; there is no money in it to start with. We are here to create jobs; this is my conviction. So, we replaced Asaba with Calabar.

About six months into our operations, we added two more aircrafts to our fleet, making it nine. Two months after, we acquired two more Boeing, making it eleven. However, we sold two of our jets to the British Airways. I doubt if that airline has ever bought used aircraft in Nigeria from another airline before. That this happened is a testimony to the fact that Air Peace is doing what others may not be doing. Our airline is being modeled after South West Airlines of the United States. If you ask my baggage handlers, where we are today, he or she can tell you. Communication trickles down, as it is not a one-man thing. ?One man may own the airline, but the governance structure of Air peace gives room for other people to contribute.

A young lady of less than 35 years is the Managing Director of Air Peace. I always recognise quality. I own Air Peace 100 percent with my wife and children. But in order to assure and ensure safety of the flying public in Nigeria, we decided to outsource maintenance. Everything about commercial flight operations is maintenance. Though you can buy a new plane today, but if you don’t follow maintenance schedule, the plane will crash. As it is key to safety, we decided to outsource our maintenance to BCT Aviation Maintenance Company, a UK based organisation. I brought them at a huge cost, and they are here in Nigeria, providing daily maintenance. They are so strict. The other day, some items in the First Aid box were missing; they grounded the plane and asked passengers to alight. We had to apologise to passengers for the delay. What is right must be done. At Air Peace, we don’t cut corners. We have the best pilots in the land. All the chief pilots of other airlines in this country are presently flying Air peace. So, they all have the experience.

How do you motivate your workforce?

If they are ill motivated, they can breech safety. If you owe a worker five months salary, he might be pushed into doing something bad. For instance, he can weigh a 50kg load and someone will give him N5, 000 bribery to load the luggage unto your aircraft to Abuja unaccompanied, which could turn out to be a bomb. At Air Peace, we don’t owe salaries, because we cut our coat according to the size of the material we have. We ensure that salaries are paid on the 25th of every month. If this falls on a Saturday, we pay it on the 24th, and if it falls on a Sunday, we pay it on the 23rd. These are not hidden facts. It is not because we have the money, but because I had the painful experience of being owed, where I served as a lawyer. So, I decided that when setting up my own company, I would not owe anybody. And from 1992, when I floated my company, I ensure that my staff were paid on the 25th of every month. I have carried on like that, not because my business principle is worker-friendly. I am a very proud person, so I don’t want somebody to ever come and say Allen Onyema owes me three months salary. Even the pilots are well remunerated, and they receive their salary as at when due. By doing so, you give them that comfort. So, safety begins with how well your staff is motivated.

Are there plans to expand your operational frontiers beyond Nigeria?

The Federal Government has granted another stretch to Air Peace. I don’t think any other airline in Nigeria got the approval to move beyond Nigeria in less than one year of operation, but we got it because we have proven our capability. Air Peace might be one year old, but we ensure that things are done appropriately. We have an expansion policy in sight. In the coming months, we will start hitting African nations. And of course, by next year, we would also like going international, to Asia and Europe.

Which African states are we looking at?

We have been given permission to go to Niger, Cote d’ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Senegal and Cameroun. In the long term, we are looking at Europe and Asia, and we believe that when the time comes, we would be allowed to do so. In fact, the government should allow any Nigerian airline that is ready to do all those things and bring revenue to this country. It will stop capital flight out of this country.

Are you processing IATA approval to enable you go international?

Of course, we’ve started our IATA workshop since almost two months now. They came to us, and we agreed and subscribed to it. They came from abroad to train our people. I’m sure within the first quarter of next year, we will be there.

What are the major challenges faced since you commenced operation?

First of all, within the industry itself, there is what we call devilish envy, which militates against unity and cooperation. We don’t speak with one voice. Secondly, government policies pose serious challenge. I have discovered that so many people advising government have no business doing so. There are so many people out there who call themselves stakeholders. They probably might have been in the industry, or are trained engineers and pilots. But that does not make them experts in the aviation business. If we don’t get policies right, we’ll continue to go down. Nigeria has had over 50 airlines, but only five or six are operating. That is not complimentary. And why have they gone down? While some of the faults could be traced to the owners, majority of the reasons are traceable to government policies. I am not talking about the present administration, but government over time. If this particular government does not look before it leaps, it may make the same mistakes. Because we have a lot of people out there, calling themselves experts, technocrats and stakeholders in the industry. They give government advice based on primordial sentiments.

Another challenge is that there are so many unviable airports in Nigeria. In the United States, anywhere you are going, the aircraft is full to capacity. But in Nigeria, this is not constant. When coming from Abuja, you can have full load, but going, you are flying an almost empty plane. Some airports have no one going there on certain days. We have over 170 million Nigerians, but less than one percent are flying. That is the number one factor militating against Nigerian airlines’ growth. All over the world, the price of fuel has gone down, but in Nigeria, the price has tripled.

Government should do something about it so that the airlines can grow. Airport infrastructure is another problem. Most of the airlines don’t fly at night, which means that by 6pm or 6:30pm, most of the planes must be on ground (AOG). But this should only occur, when there is technical fault. In Nigeria, it is not only technical problem that makes our aircraft AOG. The inadequacies of our airports create more AOG than technical issues. We pay through our nose to insure our aircraft. Abroad, it is cheaper to insure airplanes. But the insurance laws do not permit us to go out of Nigeria to insure our planes. It is Nigerian insurance companies that insure planes, and then they get underwriters from abroad. We paid over $1.6M to insure about four aircraft. Everything about aviation is computed in dollars. From N150 to a dollar, it has now become N235. You also buy spare parts and some members of the crew are paid in dollars monthly. To get the dollars to buy is a problem. We pay as much as 22.5 percent interest on some airplanes. In other climes, they get funding at single digit interest. Business all over the world thrives on credit. We need support.