Travel & Business News

  Dr. Gbenga Olowo, President, ASRT. Aviation Safety Round Table (ASRT) has advocated for interlining and codeshare between Nigerian domestic airlines as a means of increasing their profitability. This was the core message of the recently concluded Quarter 1 Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) Breakfast Webinar which held on April 29, 2021. During the meeting, it was noted that interlining and codeshare between airlines can minimize the losses airlines incur due to flight cancellations and unused seats on an aircraft. Elimination of these factors can potentially provide a better travel experience for passengers and generate more revenue for airlines; which is a win-win situation for both parties. It was acknowledged that despite the above advantages of partnership between airlines, it is an herculean task to attain any sort of collaboration between airlines that do not consider themselves peers; do not have mutual trust and do not operate similar business models. I...

  The Management of Arik Air recently revealed that the airline is set to recommence flights from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja to Maiduguri, effective Monday May 10, 2021. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Arik Air, Captain Roy Illegbodu expressed his delight with the present state of affairs: “We are delighted to introduce our services to Maiduguri, following popular demand by our customers for Arik’s presence in the city.” He went ahead to assure members of the flying public that Arik is committed to their safety, and will ensure their comfort and security as they patronize the airline. For the time being, Arik will operate four weekly flights from Abuja to the Borno State capital – flights which are scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.  

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for global air cargo markets for the month of March, 2021, revealing that demand for air cargo was at an “all time high” during the said month. The following analysis compares data recorded in March 2021 with that of March 2019 (and not March 2020) because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts which were heaviest between 2020 and early 2021. The increase (4.4%) in cargo demand (measured in cargo tonne-kilometers – CTKs) recorded in March 2021 was significantly higher compared to March 2019. Growth rose by 0.4% compared to February 2021, though this increase in demand is considered insignificant compared to the growth recorded in February 2019 (9.2%). Global capacity (measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers – ACTKs) continued its recovery in March 2021 and was up 5.6% compared to the previous month. Still, capacity remained at 11.7% below that recorded before COVID-19 (March 2019) – a situation which ...

  Azman Air, Boeing 737-500 with registration 5N-SYS   Azman Air is set to resume operations after getting the go ahead from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). This comes after the airline complied with safety recommendations from the regulator and effectively carried out the Corrective Action Plan (CAP). The news was divulged by Azman Air via a tweet in which the airline reiterated its commitment to maintaining safety standards for its passengers and crew: “Having satisfactorily undergone the safety audit and implemented the Corrective Action Plan as recommended by the regulatory body (NCAA), we are pleased to inform the general public that the suspension is hereby lifted. This was confirmed in a meeting held between the Management of Azman Air and NCAA on May 1, 2021. The underlying purpose of this journey is safety and we can assure the general public that we are committed to raising the standard when it comes to safety of crew, equipment and passengers”, the...

  Boeing, the airplane-manufacturing giant has received another order from the Lufthansa Group to supply five (5) more 787 Dreamliners - an increment to the Group's last order of twenty (20) Dreamliners made in 2019. According to Ihssane Mounir, Boeing's Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing, "The Lufthansa Group has been navigating an extremely challenging market and positioning itself for the recovery ahead and the eventual return to growth. We are honoured that they have once again selected Boeing's widebody airplane family to power their future fleet." Sources say that Lufthansa chose the 787-9 Dreamliner for the expansion of its fleet because of the jet's fuel-efficient, environment-friendly and ultramodern qualities - qualities which are in sync with the Group's goals of reducing its fleet complexity and improving environmental performance. "We are very pleased that five (5) more Boeing 787-9s will accelerate the modernization...

  Willie Walsh, DG, IATA The Director General (DG) of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh has called on governments to better manage the cost of COVID-19 testing so as to make travelling easier for individuals and families. Walsh made this call after reviewing the results of an IATA sampling of costs for PCR tests - a test which was chosen for the sampling because it is what is required by most governments. The findings reveal that out of the sixteen countries whose markets were sampled, only France complies with the World Health Organization's recommendation for the state to bear the cost of testing. Among the remaining fifteen countries, the average minimum and maximum costs for testing stand at $90 and $208 respectively. It was equally established that following the above testing costs, the average cost for a return-trip could balloon from $400 to $760 - a state of affairs which could adversely impact the efforts being made to encourage people to fl...