Poor Policies, Hostile Environment Bane of Indigenous Carriers

Poor regulatory policies and a hostile operating environment have been identified as the major challenges facing Nigeria’s air transport sector, which has been described as lopsided in favour of international operators.

Airline operators who spoke to THISDAY complain that there is no clear policy on how government can support the airlines, as obtained in other parts of the world, since air transportation is a huge vehicle to economic development of any nation.

Consequently, indigenous carriers have been operating without growth and profitability due mainly to the poor policies, lack of support, high fuel prices and high charges.

The President of the National Association of Aircraft Pilot and Engineers (NAAPE), Isaac Balami said: “Generally there is no airline that can survive in the world without government input. Name all the leading airlines from the UK, America, Middle East and others, they all need the support of the host government in one way or the other. Nigeria is the only country in the world without consistent programme on how to support its airlines.”

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of MedView Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole says that high fuel cost “eats up the revenue of airlines, taking over 40 per cent of operational cost of putting aircraft in the air.”

He said that as oil producing country, Nigerian airlines should not be paying for fuel at the present high price of N170 per litre, adding that government should support the airlines by reviewing downward the price of aviation fuel, Jet A1.

Bankole said that about 2812. 5 litres of fuel is consumed by a Boeing 737 aircraft for a 50 minutes flight from Lagos to Abuja. This, when multiplied by N170.00 per litre, will cost an airline with that aircraft type about N478, 125 for that 50 minutes flight.

He said government should invite oil marketers to the table to see how they could reach a compromise on how to bring down the cost of aviation fuel, remarking that the marketers also have their own challenges.

The airlines have also complained about high charges by aviation agencies, including the five per cent tax on ticket by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which it shares with two other agencies; the charges paid to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and that of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

Bankole said that these charges stifle the growth of indigenous airlines and this explained why no domestic airline exists for a long time and also why Nigerian operators have limited capacity, lamenting that a country of over 170 million has barely six operating airlines, many of them with few aircraft in their fleet.

“The challenge in running an airline in Nigeria is enormous. It is just the matter of doing something for a long time that made us go into the business,” Bankole said.
He however gave kudos to the Federal Government for the waiver of Customs duty on importation of commercial aircraft and parts, noting that the Nigerian Customs Service is cooperating to make the waiver work.

culled  from Thisday

Arik Air Enhances Offering with Mobile, Tablet Apps for Customers

Nigeria’s major airline, Arik Air has continued to improve its in-flight technology for the comfort of passengers by becoming the first sub-Saharan airline to introduce a mobile and tablet booking app, in a drive to further enhance its customer experience.

The announcement follows Arik Air’s decision to partner with mobile commerce firm SlimTrader in August, to provide the airline’s recently launched mobile booking service. Free to download on Blackberry, iOS, or Android devices, the app marks the latest of a raft of planned enhancements in the coming months.

Once downloaded, the Arik app presents consumers with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. Customers enter their preferred dates and number of passengers, then select the flight or flights from their desired schedule. Payment is similarly simple and because the app is unique to Arik, there are no fees leveled by third-party booking services, leaving customers with the best possible rate.

The app also includes a ‘Remember Me” feature, allowing customers to easily pick a card from a list of their registered cards without needing to enter full details of their bank card each time they make a purchase. Arik is the first organization in Nigeria or West Africa to seamlessly integrate this feature into its offering.

Dr Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, Arik Air’s Global Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The popularity of mobile commerce has increased massively in Africa and we are delighted to be the first Sub-Saharan African airline to offer customers a dedicated booking app to enhance our service.

“Mobile penetration far exceeds the reach of the internet in Nigeria and West Africa and additions like this help position Arik as a 21st Century operator, using cutting edge technology to improve ease of service and customer interaction.”

Femi Akinde, CEO of SlimTrader, commented: "As an E-commerce platform that seeks to help enterprises distribute their goods and services across multiple digital channels, we are extremely happy to be a part of Arik Air’s history-making service offerings on mobile devices."

culled from Thisday

Arik Air becomes first African airline to purchase Bombardier’s CRJ 1000 aircraft

ARIK Air has become the first African airline to purchase a brand new Bombardier’s CRJ 1000 aircraft as part of its continued drive to modernise its fleet and bring its operations up to international standards.



Celebrating its seventh anniversary, Arik unveiled the aircraft yesterday as part of its continued charm offensive to assure the Nigerian public that it is a safe airline to fly with. This latest acquisition brings the airline’s fleet size to 26 aircraft, all of them less than eight years old.



Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, Arik's chief executive, said: “As we mark our seven years of uninterrupted service, we also look forward to the next chapter of our history in revolutionising air travel. We do so by proudly unveiling the newest member of Arik’s modern fleet, a Bombardier’s next generation CRJ 1000 regional jet.”



He added that the transaction and other joint-venture collaborations such as investment in maintenance support facilities, demonstrates Bombardier’s depth of confidence in both Arik Air and Nigeria’s burgeoning aviation sector. Arik and Bombardier, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer have built up a growing relationship over recent years.



Raphael Haddad, Bombardier's vice president sales for Africa and the Middle East, who was also at the unveiling ceremony, said the new aircraft is very reliable and flies in many destinations around the world. He declined to comment on how much the new aircraft cost but aircraftcompare.com put the price at over $46m.



Mr Haddad said: “This CRJ 1000 is the latest born in our CRJ family. It is highly reliable, highly economical and has a very good environmental footprint in terms of noise and fuel burnt.”



Bombardier’s 100-seat CRJ1000 NextGen regional jet is the latest and biggest member of the CRJ series but retains many of the physical characteristics of its relatives. About 128 feet long, the CRJ1000 features a 7.5% trailing-edge extension over its 88-seat predecessor, a 0.66m wing-tip extension and reinforced landing gear and carbon instead of steel, brakes.



Arik began operations on 30 October 2006 with three brand new Bombardier CRJ 900 aircraft and flew only four daily flights between Lagos and Abuja. Today, the airline has not only extended its operations within Nigeria but has gone international, with the daily Lagos-Abuja-London flight being one of its most lucrative.
culled from nigerianwatch.com

Shettima urges Arik to resume Maiduguri flights

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima yesterday visited the headquarters of Arik Air in Lagos with a call for resumption of flight operations to Maiduguri.

Arik recently suspended Maiduguri flights, following the closure of the airport there by aviation authorities in the wake of a deadly attack on military bases.
On Tuesday , Shettima met with management of Arik, led by its chairman Chief Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, where he assured of his commitment to work with security agencies to ensure maximum security to safeguard land and air passengers.
Shettima said flight operations were critical to the economy of Borno, serving as one of the major links between the state and other parts of the world.
He described Arik as a good friend of the state, recalling that since the insurgency began in 2009, the airline maintained daily flights to Maiduguri until 16 days ago.
Shettima also said there had been exaggerations on the Boko Haram insurgency in the state, saying that so many activities were taking place in spite of the problems.
Arik chairman Arumemi-Ikhide pledged to meet with security agencies to discuss the governor’s demand for flights resumption.

source: Daily Trust

We are not bothered about national carrier controversy —Arik

Arik Air has said it is not worried about Aero Contractors or any other carrier being named a national carrier.

Arik’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide said this at the sidelines of Arik Air’s unveiling of its brand new aircraft, Bombadier CRJ-1000, a new generation aircraft in Lagos.
Dr. Arumemi-Ikhide said Arik isn’t focused on compe-tition from a national carrier or any other carrier but only focused on delivering on its core business mandate.
But “If given opportunity to be the national carrier, we are ready even today”, he declared.
“I don’t believe in focusing too much on competition. It is important to recognise competition, but my philosophy is, if I focus on my business, if I focus is on my products and services are the best that they can be, it is the customers that will dictate who should succeed. I’m not worried. At the end of the day, it is for the benefit of Nigeria” he said.
He noted that what’s important is that Nigeria should be the better for it. “We have over 150 million people, the market is phenomenal. The market penetration so far is less than 10 percent. So we need more carriers for the good of our people. So if a national carrier will mean more flying opportunity for Nigerians, more economic development, if it means happier travellers, if it means a more prosperous nation, it’s all good. But let it be the best, let it be for the benefit of the customers and let the airline but of sound standard, reliable and safe.”
“But let us not retreat to the days before the rested national carrier that kept lives at risk. If these are in place, I will wish the new national carrier good luck but I’m not bother because my focus is on myself” he said.
Speaking on Arik’s expansion drive, the CEO said Arik’s “plan going forward is to connect the West African market entirely from Lagos and Abuja”.
According to him, “We will also connect the Central and East African markets from Lagos and Abuja. In the next 6 years we will increase our fleet by 90 percent, bringing in again, like the CRJ1000, new technology, new innovations and also address the service delivery needs of our customers.”
He said the airline would increase its international frequencies in 2014.

source: Daily Trust

Arik Air selects Commsoft's OASES

Arik Air has selected Commsoft's OASES software, which allows full integration of maintenance and engineering functions.

The Nigerian airline will use OASES to support its internal continuing airworthiness management organisation (CAMO) capabilities. It said it is likely to appoint an OASES-experienced third party contractor to assist with training and development.
The initial focus will be on Arik Air's two A330-200s, later including the rest of the airline's fleet, including: 737-800s; 737-700s; CRJ-900s; and Dash 8 Q400s.
Allan Fullilove, technical director of Arik Air,commented: "Having utilised OASES with another airline many years ago, I am impressed at the latest major improvements developed by Commsoft. I believe OASES will offer major value benefits at Arik Air as we develop our technical capabilities."
Commsoft's OASES has 56 direct customers in 32 countries.
Source: www.afm.aero

Arik Air donates vehicle to police

Arik Air yesterday donated a Toyota Hilux Pick-up van to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Police Command to improve security of lives and property. Commissioner of Police Mr Waheed Salau received it on behalf of the police.

The donation, according to the Managing Director of Arik Air, Mr Chris Ndulue, was part of the series of logistic assistance programmes carried out by the airline to enhance security in its working environment.

During the presentation at the headquarters of the airline in Lagos, Ndulue said: “Arik Air is delighted to make this presentation to the Police at the Airport as a token of our appreciation for responding to our call anytime the officers and men are called upon. We are indeed happy over this donation and we are looking forward to other things to come. Once more, we urge you to continue to secure our airports to make passengers’ traveling experience delightful. We embark on a lot of corporate social responsibility projects, but this donation appears obvious because of the publicity it has attracted.”

Exuding excitement, the police chief thanked Arik Air for the gesture, which he described as unique. Salau added that the police were highly encouraged by the donation, noting: “The police are very excited and grateful over this van donation by Arik Air. This is historic, the very first van donation from any domestic airline.

“We are very happy and will immediately deploy this vehicle for patrol to ensure smooth operations around the airport and ensure it is free of criminal activities. We will try to reduce criminal activities around the airport drastically.”

culled from The Nation

Oduahgate - Groups Seek Prosecution of NCAA for Refusal of FOI

Two non-governmental organisations, Media Rights Agenda, MRA, and Public and Private Development Centre, PPDC, have filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos asking the court to compel the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to release to them the procurement records for the controversial purchase of two bullet proof cars for Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah.

In the suit filed on their behalf by Ayodeji Acquah, under the Freedom of Information Act, the groups also asked the court to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation to initiate criminal proceedings against the NCAA for the offence of "wrongful denial of access to information" under Section 7(5) of the FOI Act.

According to a statement by the Legal Officer of Media Rights, Omolola Adeoya, the groups wrote two joint letters to NCAA Director General, Folayele Akinkuotu, on October 21, asking for detailed information on the procurement records for the purchase by the NCAA of two BMW 760 LiHSS vehicles with chassis numbers WBAHP41050DW68032 and WBAHP41010DW68044.

They asked for copies of the procurement and contract records for the purchase of the cars; including evidence of budgetary allocation for the procurement process; the procurement plan for the purchase; evidence of advertisements of the planned purchase in various newspapers, NCAA website, the Procurement Journal, international publications, etc., inviting prospective bidders to submit bids for the procurement; and a list of all bids tendered for the procurement from when it was advertised till the close of the bid; among other documents.

However, in a four-page reply dated November 11, 2013 and signed on behalf of the Director-General by NCAA's Legal Adviser, E.D. Chukwuma, the Authority refused to disclose the records, claiming that it was withholding the information based on the exemptions in Sections 12 and 26 of the FOI Act.

In their suit filed on December 6, MRA and PPDC asked the court to grant them leave to apply for a judicial review of the NCAA decision under the FOI Act and to seek the following reliefs:

- A declaration that the failure and/or refusal by the NCAA to disclose or make available to them the information they requested by their letters to the NCAA dated October 21, 2013 amounts to a violation of their rights of access to information, established and guaranteed by Sections 1(1) and 4(a) of the FOI Act;

 

culled from  Premium Times

South African Airways needs ‘billions’ for turnaround

South African Airways Ltd., the country’s state-controlled carrier, needs “billions” of rand in government funding and won’t break even for four to five years, Chief Executive Officer Monwabisi Kalawe said.
The financing could come as a guarantee or a capital injection, Kalawe said in an interview with Bloomberg Africa TV over the weekend. “Like any company whether it’s a private company or a publicly listed company — at some stage you go to your shareholders for financial assistance,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing.”
SAA, as Africa’s biggest carrier is known, is battling with loss-making routes, an aging fleet, rising fuel costs and a weak balance sheet. Its earnings report for the full year through March has been delayed amid discussions for further state support.
“It’ll take us between four to five years to break even or make a small profit, so when we announce our results, we will tell the market that we made a loss again,” Kalawe said.
The airline is seeking to upgrade the engines of its aging Airbus SAS A340 wide-body fleet as part of a plan to lower fuel costs. The company wants about 30 new aircraft yet can only afford to lease rather than buy the planes, Kalawe said.
“Because the balance sheet is weak, we have no option but to lease the planes,” he said. SAA is evaluating “tenders and of course the delivery of the planes is going to take place over a 10 to 15 year period.”
SAA is shifting its focus to expand in faster-growing African economies after canceling its unprofitable route to Buenos Aires and putting its Beijing flights under review.
One option “is to look at setting up a hub in West Africa,” Kalawe said. “That hub will allow us to connect southern Africa to West Africa and to the West. That’s really where our strategy is looking at.”
culled from Businessday

Again, Oduah Fails to Appear Before Senate Panel, Service Chiefs Too

 Stella Oduah, Aviation Minister

 

The expected appearance of the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah,  before the Senate was botched Thursday for the third time as she blamed her inability to honour the invitation of the Committee on Aviation on the landing mishap by a Saudi Arabian cargo aircraft at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

In the same vein, the Senate’s scheduled meeting with service chiefs yesterday could not hold as a number of them were absent due to what was described as logistic reasons.

The security agents were expected to brief the senators on the update on emergency rule in three North-eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

The first expected appearance of Oduah was botched following the absence of Senate President, David Mark, on the floor of the Senate that day as Mark was billed to travel to Dubai to represent President Goodluck Jonathan at the finals of the FIFA Under-17 Championship in Dubai, the capital of United Arab Emirates.

Her second awaited appearance was also botched following Senate’s decision to rescind its October 8 resolution summoning the embattled Aviation Minister to appear before the Committee of the Whole Senate to explain perceived negligence in the aviation sector which resulted in the crash of Associated Airlines’ aircraft conveying the corpse of former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, on October 3.

The chamber resolved that the minister should appear before the committee instead of the whole house.

Speaking on Oduah’s absence yesterday, Chairman of Aviation Committee, Senator Hope Uzodimma, said the meeting had been rescheduled for Tuesday, December 10.
Also Thursday, the planned briefing of the Senate by service chiefs could not hold as the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ihejirika Onyeabor, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, and the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, were absent over what the Senate’s spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, described as “logistics.”

Briefing journalists after yesterday’s plenary, Abaribe said: “The meeting didn’t go as scheduled because it was a delicate issue and heads of agencies were not available. We felt that what we were trying to get was of sufficient importance to the nation and we would not get complimentary briefing if they were not present. Therefore, we resolved to postpone the briefing to another legislative day.”

culled from Thisday

BEDC disconnects electricity supply to Benin Airport

Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC, has disconnected electricity supply to  Benin Airport over unpaid accumulated bills, even as a Benin- based legal practitioner, Olayiwola Afolabi, petitioned the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, over the deplorable condition of the airport runway, claiming that the lives of passengers were at risk whenever planes were landing.

According to Afolabi, “the runway is so bad that each time planes want to land, the pilot and passengers undergo great difficulties and this is not to play with the lives of Nigerians. In view of the above, we urge you, as Minister of Aviation, to put all necessary machineries in place to address this problem.”
However, Vanguard gathered that the power supply to the airport was disconnected last week.
The arrival and departure halls, were yesterday, filled with passengers, who were sweating profusely as the place was stuffy. Most of the passengers were seen fanning themselves with newspapers as all air conditioners in the halls and adjourning offices were switched off as the electricity generating plants could not power them
A staff of the airport who spoke on condition of anonymity told journalists that power supply to the airport was cut over a week ago by the electricity distribution company, even though about N2 million was being paid monthly to the power company.
He said: “The management pays between N1.8 million and N2 million every month, yet they came to disconnect us last week. We have been running on generators and they are not powerful enough to carry the air conditioners.”
Efforts to reach the airport manager, Mr. Sunday Ayodele, failed as calls to his mobile phone could not go through.
But when contacted, the Public Relations Officer of Benin Electricity Company, Mr. Curtis Nwiadei, confirmed that power supply to the airport was disconnected over unpaid bill of N4.3 million, adding, “that is why they were disconnected.”
Recall that a few months ago, Edo State Board of Internal Revenue Board sealed off the office of the airport manager over unpaid taxes deducted from workers’ salaries for several years without remittances to the state government.
culled from Vanguard

FG Re-opens Abuja Airport after Air Incident

The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, which was on Wednesday shut to air traffic was reopened for flights at about 5p.m.  Thursday.

The airport was shut down as a result of a B747 Saudi Air Cargo flight SVA 6814 that veered off the runway of the airport.

A statement from the Special Adviser to the Minister of Aviation on Media, Joe Obi, said the damaged aircraft had been successfully recovered to the apron and the airport reopened for normal flight operations.

Joe said it took the swift, combined emergency response effort of the aviation agencies, customs, other security agencies and the fire service personnel to accomplish the feat in record time.

Speaking to journalists at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the airport shortly after the completion of the exercise, the Managing Director of National Airport Management Authority, Mazi Nnamdi Udoh, praised the effort of the team that were involved in the quick resolution of the situation, adding that it was a measure of the readiness of all relevant authorities to respond to emergency situations in the aviation sector.

Udoh regretted the inconvenience the temporary suspension of flight operations as a result of the incident had caused the travelling public, commending their patience and understanding with the aviation authorities throughout the period of the exercise.

He assured that safety and security of air passengers remains a top priority in the scheme of things in the sector.

He said an advisory known in aviation parlance as Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) had already been issued on the resumption of normal operations at the airport.

At approximately 10.12p.m. on Wednesday, flight SVA6814, a Boeing 747 cargo plane with registration K74798 operated by Saudi Air Cargo arriving into the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, landed safely but subsequently veered off the taxiway.

The incident was immediately brought under control without any casualties.
The airport was subsequently closed temporarily for landing but aircraft were permitted to take-off as normal.

Meanwhile, hundreds of passengers designated to travel to Abuja from Lagos yesterday were shocked when they arrived at the airport and learnt that flights to Abuja would not commence due to closure of the airport’s runway.
At the GAT and the domestic terminal (MMA2) of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, throngs of passengers waited impatiently hoping that the aircraft would quickly be removed so that flight operations to the airport would resume but this did not happen until late afternoon yesterday.

In fact, the airlines had to cancel all their flights between Lagos and Abuja.
Spokesman of Arik Air, Banji Ola, told THISDAY that the airline cancelled 16 flights between Abuja and Lagos and also cancelled numerous other flights from Abuja to various state capitals, adding that the country’s biggest airline operates more flights from Abuja to other destinations than from its Lagos operational base.

Aero Contractors, Med View Airlines and First Nation Airways also cancelled all their flights to and from Abuja and this paralysed over 50 per cent of all air domestic services.

THISDAY learnt that the pilot may have ignored the Notice to Air Men (NOTAM) which indicated that a construction work was going at that side of the Abuja runway and taxied towards the construction site, but what irked many Nigerians was that it took a long time before the aircraft which was grounded by the incident was removed.

General Manager, Public Affairs of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Supo Atobatele in a statement said that agency had since issued a NOTAM (notice to air men) on the construction work going on at the runway.

After removing the aircraft, NAMA through its Managing Director, apologised to air travellers about the inconveniences the runway closure caused them and the airlines.
He, however, commended their patience and understanding with the aviation authorities throughout the period and assured that safety and security of air passengers remain a top priority in the scheme of things in the sector.

culled from Thisday