The Nation Newspaper

Category: Aviation

  • Firm launches travel portal

    Quantum Travels Limited has unveiled a new online travel platform, Ajala.ng; aimed at catering for the exponential growth and demands of their individual customers who desire personal, quick and unique travel management services.

    Speaking at the event, head Brand Marketing and Projects, Ms. Omolua Oyakhire described the travel firm as a one-stop online travel management platform delivering unique offerings that allows customers take control of their travel plans and optimize different opportunities at the lowest cost possible

    “At Ajala.ng, our number one aim is to provide travel paths and plans that won’t break the bank, whilst meeting our customers’ need.  We provide a holistic approach to our travel service offerings thereby granting control to the traveler to create a travel experience that exceeds their expectations” she said.

    She  explained further that the new online platform would help improve the ease of acquiring travel information and support customers who desire to travel but do not have adequate resources by providing them with the option of spreading payment over a specific period of time and still meeting their travelling desires with a relatively low cost.

    Also commenting on the launch of the company, the Head, Customer Relationship Management, Mrs. Bukola Isaac-Oluwasanmi, remarked that the new travel platform is one of the most convenient, fast and user friendly website in comparison to what is currently obtainable in the industry, providing unique browsing experience for the customers.

    It provides a date search matrix to help see prices across a week at a glance, maps to help pinpoint one’s destination as well as other innovative tools at the customers’ disposal.

    “More so, by utilizing a combination of automated tools and manual processes, we are able to deliver to our customers the lowest available airfare real-time at any given time.

    Every booking made would go through a rigorous lowest logical fare check to ensure the best fare is available for the traveler” she said.

    Commenting on the unique service offerings of Ajala.ng, Isaac-Oluwasanmi enjoined both current and prospective customers to take full advantage of the unique services available at company for a stress free travelling experience both local and international routes.

     

     

  • Mixed reactions trail agitation for bailout for indigenous carriers

    Mixed reactions trail agitation for bailout for indigenous carriers

    Experts and stakeholders in the aviation sector have expressed mixed reactions over agitation by the Senate for the government to work out a bailout fund to rescue struggling indigenous carriers.

    According to them, the agitation for  such a bailout will be a hasty and unhealthy remedy unless government carries out a diagnosis of the challenges the airline sub-sector is grappling with.

    The Managing Director of Dana Air, Mr Jacky Hathiramani; President, Aviation Round Table, Mr Gbenga Olowo; former president of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria  (ATSSSAN) Comrade Solomon Ohioma and an aircraft engineer, Roland Ahmed, said the government should not hastily embrace the agitation without carrying out a forensic investigation on the challenges indigenous carriers are struggling with.

    They spoke in separate interviews.

    Hathiramani said there was need for the government to assist domestic carriers because previous efforts to come to their aid was insufficient in getting them out of the woods.

    He said: ”Most airlines certainly do need Federal Government intervention, what was done before was not enough and neither did all airlines benefit equally.

    “The Federal Government needs to consider an aviation policy like the kind of policies fine-tuned for other sectors, why not for airlines too.

    ‘’Airlines need to be motivated to perform long-term for the good of the country and to entice more travellers  as well as stimulate commercial activities  in the economy and tourism within the country.

    “Currently, airline operations are not profitable enough to invest further in new aircraft and explore additional routes to connect more cities with the country.

    ‘’Banks need to support airlines more too as they currently shy away from supporting the industry.’’

    He said if airlines were better funded, there would be fewer than 146 private jets in the country, and neither would there be a need for a national carrier which will unnecessarily burn up the scarce financial resources of the country.

    He added: If  government wants to help, then they should first help existing airline operators, otherwise even the threat of a national carrier is enough to depress the aviation sector as it deters further  investment by the main airlines.”

    Olowo said there was the need to consider the uncontrollable costs indigenous airlines  struggle with before any form of funds injection should be considered

    He queried :”We need to know what sort of bailout , Could it be a repeat of the AMCON failed previous experiments?

    “Yes the move is positive but a more wholistic diagnosis of the problem is essential because if the hole is not blocked , funds injected will go same way as in the past.

    “As regards support for the airlines on several challenges,this forms part of the wholistic approach identified above. Uncontrollable cost elements among others do require deliberate government attention for our airlines survival.”

    Ohiomah opposed any consideration of bailout for domestic carriers, arguing that the struggling carriers should approach commercial banks on their own rather than resorting to the government for “hand outs“ .

    He said: ”No, to any form of bailouts again to Nigerian owned airlines.The first bailout ended up not been used for aviation purposes.

    “Secondly, the government  has  no business giving public money to selected individuals. The government   is not a lending house. They should approach their banks.

    ‘’These were the people who killed Nigeria Airways with dangerous systemic manipulation so that they may thrive.

    ‘’They should either merge or straight acquisition be allowed. It is the tendency of ownership syndrome for ego sake that is deluding them.”

    Ahmed, however, said there was the need for transparency and accountability by the operators that are seeking financial assistance to ensure any funds injected into their business is not wasted.

    He said: ’’As interesting as the debate may be to bail out the airlines,  we must first ask what happened to the initial bailout the airlines got from the government (AMCON), until they are able to show or tell us what they did with the money, we cannot continue to bail out airlines. If so, government should bail out every market man and woman out there struggling and cannot break even.’’

     

     

  • 14-year-old wins emirates contest

    14-year-old wins emirates contest

    A 14-year-old Tanimola Oluwaseke, a pupil of Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, has won the Emirates grand prize for the “Be There Campaign” competition.

    He got  two return tickets to travel to any destination of his choice on Emirates routes – London, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Phuket, Jakarta,  Bali, Los Angeles, New York, and Mauritus.The “Be There Campaign” is a phone-in Radio competition , in which callers were  asked to describe the features of a given Emirates destination, after which winners are selected every day.

    The Regional Manager Emirates West Africa, Mr. Manoj Nair, said the ‘Be There’ Campaign was part of the global campaign of the airline aimed at celebrating curiosity and the adventure that comes with travel.

    He said: “In Nigeria, we partnered with Radio Continental to spur Nigerians, who are passionate about travelling to phone-in and describe features/attractions of the chosen destination for the day.

    ‘’The best is out to bring his/her passion to life by capturing unique places or attractions of the given destinations wins for that day.  This is to showcase how travel helps them know places and fulfill their dreams.”

    He further said : “We, at Emirates are delighted that, a 14-year-old pupil has won the grand prize for this competition. This shows that Emirates supports responsible competitiveness and gives equal opportunities to everybody succeed succeed.”

    The Ondo State born grand prize winner was highly elated, saying he didn’t know he would win. His words: “I didn’t expect I would win because I was the youngest amongst adults. When I came here and saw myself in the midst of adults, I felt intimidated. I’m very happy to be the grand prize winner. I won two tickets meaning I will have to travel to any of these destinations with someone, but it’s a very hard decision to say whom I will be travelling with – dad or mum.”

     

  • NAMA chief to managers: pay attention to safety

    NAMA chief to managers: pay attention to safety

    THE Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has taken measures to further strengthen its air traffic management and surveillance strategy aimed at ensuring a fool-proof safety network in all its operations across the country.

    Towards this end, the Managing Director, Ibrahim Abdulsalam, has issued a fresh directive to airspace managers and air traffic engineers across the nation’s airports to remain extra vigilant and pay utmost attention to minute details that are safety related.

    Abdulsalam gave the directive in at a meeting with airspace managers and air traffic engineers at NAMA headquarters in Lagos.

    He said :” In view of recent incidents involving some airlines and the unfortunate Bristow helicopter crash, it has become imperative that we maintain the highest standards of safety by promptly reporting and dealing with even the slightest safety related issue that comes up.

    “Although  NCAA has commenced an audit of the airlines, as the airspace managers, we must also gear up efforts to compliment what the regulator is doing by going a little further than we used to, in ensuring maximum safety.”

    He charged Air Traffic Operations Managers and Quality Assurance Managers at the various airports to work in close synergy with Airspace Managers to make for a harmonised network of operations.

    He said NAMA will continue to maintain zero-tolerance for aviation incidents.  Abdulsalam also the agency’s personnel to take advantage of the dedicated hotlines for all complaints and enquiries where issues could be promptly reported to the headquarters office for immediate action.

    Meanwhile, NAMA has commenced another training of air traffic controllers and engineers at the Lagos Area Control Centre ahead of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Contract/Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication (ADS-C/CPDLC) billed for deployment this month.

    The three-day training, which took place at the NCAA Training Hall at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, was meant to sensitise and train staff on the installation and usage of the facility as inauguration date fast approaches.

    Also attending the training are members of  staff of other aviation agencies as well as stakeholders in the sector.

    While declaring the event  open, the Managing Director of NAMA,  Ibrahim Abdulsalam noted: “The decision to deploy ADS-C/CPDLC to Nigeria falls in line with the agency’s vision of being a leading air navigation service provider in  the world by deploying modern technologies for communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management  within the  airspace.”

    He maintained that the agency’s efforts at developing Nigeria’s air traffic management and airspace capacity, such as this, are geared towards safely and effectively accommodating increasing flight operations in an aviation sector that has witnessed remarkable growth and structural expansion over time.

     

     

  • ‘How to float a national airline‘

    ‘How to float a national airline‘

    An aviation expert,  Group Captain  John Obakpolor (rtd), has proposed a model on how government could deliver a new national airline which, he said, should not be 100 per cent owned by the government.

    He said  for the proposed national carrier to operate profitably, the government should not have a controlling share in it.

    Speaking in an interview in Lagos, Obakpolor said previous attempts to deliver a national airline failed because the wrong  model was adopted.

    He said many things went wrong in the past with the attempts to float a national airline. He listed some of them to include, but not limited to, a lack of interested technical and airline partners, inadequate equipment and improper framework.

    On the modalities for the proposed carrier, Obakpolor said Nigerians should participate in establishing it through equity shares.

    He welcomed the idea of a new national carrier for the nation, maintaining that it was necessary for the national pride and employment generation.

    “This attempt to re-establish a national carrier for Nigeria is correct. There is no nation that doesn’t have a national airline. The so- called aviation experts have been proffering solutions that should not even be mentioned. The national carrier is essential for national pride.

    “People have been greedy, that’s why the national carrier never took off. Let Nigerians participate in the formation of the national carrier and not government. Let people buy into the project and let’s see if it will not move forward. In U.S. some of the airlines, their shares were sold to the workers. So, when you buy shares, you cannot work lackadaisically. You know if you do that, there will be no profit for you to share at the end of the year. The airline will work, but the modality is important.

    “Personally, I will say government should have 49 per cent equity while the public should have 51 per cent shares,“ he said.

     

  • Why more aircraft are using Nigeria’s airspace

    Why more aircraft are using Nigeria’s airspace

    •  ‘Traffic rose from 10,291 flights in 2014 to 11,190 in 2015’

    More airlines are using Nigeria’s airspace to  save flight time en route their destinations, investigations have shown.

    Flights across the airspace en route a particular destination is regarded in aviation parlance as over flights or over flyers.

    Aircraft from various parts of the continents fly pass the airspace utilising air navigation equipment regarded as space-based or ground- based stations as reporting points before flying to their destinations.

    The increasing use of the airspace is predicated on improved air navigation facilities at various ground and satellite stations.

    From statistics available to The Nation, over flyers across increased this year compared to last year’s figure.

    Over 11,190 aircraft flew across  the airspace between January and April, compared to 2014 figure for the same period, which was 10,291.

    A  source at the National Aviation Management Authority (NAMA) said the increase in over flyers could be attributed to a number of factors, chief of which is the safety of the airspace.

    Other factors are the confidence reposed in airspace managers by airlines, resulting in the increased number of airlines plying various routes.

    The source said: “There is confidence now and people are seeing that our navigational equipment have improved and this has led them to go through here and has cut their travel time. This is good for us and the airlines and it saves them time.

    “Even the safe tower project, which is not fully operational, will bring a lot of benefits when it becomes operational.

    “There is the possibility of further increase of overflyers, especially from this period to September, which people see as the peak period, as more people will travel for holidays and other things.

    “It can only get better and we are hoping to maintain this base and move higher, because in truth more airlines flying through your airspaces simply means users have reposed some confidence in you to do so and it tells you that your navigational equipment is in tip-top shape or else people would avoid your airspace like a gravitational pull.”

    In all, 298 airlines flew through the nation’s airspace between January and April this year.

    Month-by-month analysis shows that in January, the country’s airspace recorded 2,833 over flyers, February (2,607), March (8,014) while April’s was 2, 736 over flyers.

    The data also showed that the Air France Group, recorded 1,125 over flyers within the period, with 801 frequencies in January, 255 in February, 294 in March and 275 in April.

    Another airline with high frequencies is South African Airways with 914 flights. The breakdown indicate that the airline had 217 in January, same number in February, 247 in March and 288 in April.

    Ethiopian Airlines Corporation came third with 816 frequencies with the breakdown as follows: 227in January, February 108, March 248 while April had 288 frequencies.

    Royal Air Maroc was fourth on the list with a total of 676 frequencies, January; 177, February; 145, March; 172 and April had 179 frequencies.

    Next on the table was  Emirates Airlines with 492 frequencies in four months; January 187, February 127, March 115 and 118 frequencies in April.

    Also, Asky Airlines with 461 closely followed Emirates. Asky Airlines recorded 70 frequencies in January, 121 in February and 141 in March.

    Others are Kenya Airways with 442 frequencies in four months; Ceiba Intercontinental S.A had 389; Privatair (South Africa) had 340 frequencies; Brussel Airline, flying also from South Africa, recorded 321 frequencies; Camair-Co, 291 and Turkish Airlines had 281 frequencies.

    Others were Iberia-Lineasaereas De Espana with 266; Etihad 244; Egypt Air, 206; Air Namibia, 205; Government of Niger, 195; Tap Air Portugal, 195; KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, 190; Air Mobility Command (AMC), 178; Trans Air Congo, 175; Air Cote D’Voire, 170; Deutsche Lufthansa AG, 165; Condor Air/Lufthansa, 134; British Airways Plc, 132; Qatar Airways; 127, Cargolux Airlines, 115 and Cronos Airlines with 104 frequencies in four months, among many others

  • Emirates launches promo

    Emirates launches promo

    Emirates  has announced the launch of a promotional campaign, which offers up to 25 per cent  reduction in air fare for passengers to select destinations in its Economy Class cabins for the Nigerian market.

    The special fares apply to all Emirates’ destinations from Lagos, including Mumbai, Guangzhou, Delhi, Dallas-Fort-Worth, Dubai, Houston, New York, London, Chennai, Chicago, Bangalore,  Mumbai, and Guangzhou.

    The offer is valid for between August  18, and August  24, for travel from September 1, 2015 up to December 10,  2015.

    Speaking on the tactical fares, the Regional Manager, Emirates West Africa, Mr. Manoj Nair, said the special fares and the opportunity to stopover in Dubai for shopping and leisure are particular attractions for passengers, with the 96-hour visa in Dubai making the journey even smoother.

    “Passengers can experience award-winning services from the Emirates cabin crew from more than 130 countries, gourmet cuisine and the airline’s renowned ice inflight entertainment system, which offers passengers hundreds of audio and visual channels on demand,” he added.

    Customers travelling with Emirates benefit from a generous baggage allowance of 30 kilogrammes in Economy Class, 40 kilogrammes in Business Class and 50 kilogrammes in First Class. Passengers on Emirates flights can also stay in touch with SMS, email and phone connections in every seat.

    Meanwhile, Emirates Airlines has unfolded a new package for passengers traveling to destinations in the United States (US) .

    Under the new package, Emirates passengers, who want to explore beyond the airline’s network of American destinations, now have dozens of options with the Americas Pass.

    With one combined ticket, travellers flying to any of Emirates’ 10 US destinations can connect to over 90 cities across the USA, Canada and Latin America through Emirates’ five partner airlines: Jet Blue, Alaska Airlines, Virgin America, WestJet Airlines and Porter Airlines.

     

     

     

  • Bi-Courtney partners firm cargo agents training

    Bi-Courtney partners firm cargo agents training

    IN Keeping with its policy of regular training and re-training of its workforce, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), Lagos, has held a workshop for cargo agents in the terminal’s domestic cargo shed.

    The workshop was organised in collaboration with Greater Washington Limited (GWL), the concessionaire in charge of cargo operations.

    The workshop, which is an annual exercise, focused on the modalities for identifying, classifying and handling dangerous and prohibited items.The objective is to ensure that activities in the facility are constantly at par with global best practices, especially in the area of safety and security.

    Aviation and cargo safety experts from Nigerian Civil Aviation Agency (NCAA), led by Cargo Safety Inspector, Mr. Augustine Eboigbe, facilitated the workshop.

    Other instructors included: Aviation Safety Inspector, Ground Operations, Mrs. Stella Patrick-Okpara and Aviation Safety Inspector, Mr. Yusuf Chanchangi.

    On the exercise, Head, Cargo Section, BASL, Mr. Ayodeji Akinremi, said it was to create continuous awareness among agents and other actors in the cargo section on how they can effectively identify, handle and classify dangerous goods.

    He said the exercise did not take anything away from the measures in place at the cargo shed to ensure strict compliance with security and safety standards.

    He said: “No doubt we have put various checks and security measures in place. These include the presence of  men of the State Security Services (SSS), the Nigeria Police Bomb Squad, Aviation Security (AVESC) personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Airlines’ security officials, Nigerian Customs Service, the military, Nigeria Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), among others”

    “In addition, we have a dedicated cargo screening machine that is able to identify and analyse the content of every cargo,” he said.

    He emphasised the company’s policy of zero tolerance for touting in every part of the terminal, while stressing the fact that “there are strict rules guiding our operations at the cargo section”.

    “There is nothing like touting because all the operators are known to us and are duly registered. As such, it is absolutely impossible for any unruly behaviour or sharp practices to take place” .

    Other officials of the two companies that witnessed the exercise include, BASL’s Head, Aeronautical Services, Mr. Raphael Uchegbu, Head, Safety, Mr. Charles Aroguma and Head, Corporate Communications, Remi Ladigbolu and GWL’s Assitant General Manager, Corporate Services, Mr. Aghogban Bright and Manager MMA2 Cargo Shed, Mr. Bright Egbedia.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Why airlines can’t use new navigation system’

    ‘Why airlines can’t use new navigation system’

    Airlines are set to key into a new navigational system, the Performance Based Navigation (PBN), developed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO), the Managing Director of Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Ibrahim Abdulsalam, has said.

    But, indigenous carriers will have to await clearance from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to adopt this new technology that will make flight operations seamless.

    The new technology, he said, will help to reduce flight hours by pilots of indigenous carriers when approved by the NCAA.

    PBN, the airspace agency boss  said, sets the level of accuracy, integrity and continuity that the aircraft’s navigation systems must meet for required functionality.

    All components required for effective implementation of the new technology  have been completed by the agency.

    He said NCAA is yet to approve it for the airlines. He did not state the reason for.

    Abdulsalam said: “I understand that Arik is about using the equipment, but I am not too sure about the other airlines. But Arik aircraft are equipped to use it.”

    But, investigations reveal that some aircraft in the fleet of some indigenous carriers are not fitted with the required technology to migrate into the new navigation system.

    He said when operational, the new air navigation would benefit the industry.

    He said: “You know we have very efficient routing now that you can take direct flight routing from Lagos to wherever you are flying into  or wherever you are flying  from to Lagos.Those are some of the benefits of PBN, those are some of the benefits of direct routing. It is part of the things we are enjoying at the moment and we hope to even enjoy more subsequently as we move along.’’

    The NAMA boss said the equipment has been installed in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, stressing that the agency’s officials are already conversant with the facilities.

    “So, maintaining it will not be difficult for us.They trained on it and they have been maintaining the other three stations; so, maintaining this one will not be a problem,” he said.

    Abdulsalam further said the milestone was accomplished last month with the conduct of the Site AcceptanceTest of the new Kano Safe Tower project, as well as the Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) training.

    The Safe Tower Project was conceived in 2006 by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration to automate air traffic services at Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt control towers.

    The project was completed in Abuja and Lagos in 2007, while that of Port Harcourt was completed in 2008. However, the completion of this project was delayed in Kano as a new control tower had to be constructed.

    According to him, following the completion of the construction of the new Kano Control Tower in November, last year, NAMA mobilised AVSATEL to site for the deployment of the safe tower automated air travel management and meteorological systems last January.

    He explained that shortly after AVSATEL mobilised to site, the Kano Safe Tower project suffered yet another delay as some of the equipment which have been in the warehouse since 2007, had become obsolete and had to be replaced at additional cost.

    Despite all the challenges, Abdulsalam said the deployment of the system was completed with the required conduct of a site acceptance test.

     

  • ‘AIB has sufficient technical staff to handle investigations’

    ‘AIB has sufficient technical staff to handle investigations’

    The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) says it has enough technical staff to handle incident and accident investigations.

    The spokesman of the bureau, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi, told The Nation in Lagos that the agency is ready to investigate any incident or accident in the sector.

    He dismissed reports  that the AIB  has only five technical staff for incident and accident investigation.

    Besides those the management took over from the former Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) in 2007, it has also trained several  personnel in various aviation colleges around the world to meet the challenges in the sector.

    He insisted that the new staff recruited to boost the technical department and meet its succession plan are on training at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria, saying that recruitment of staff is a continuous exercise in the agency.

    Oketunbi said it has about 14 technical staff, both contract and regular staff which is  enough for the sector .

    He noted that both regular and contract staff are full time workers of AIB producing accident reports that has been receiving commendation from within and outside the country over the years and assured that it would continue to discharge its duties with utmost professionalism it deserves.

    He said:  “AIB at inception in 2007 inherited from AIPB few staff, majority of who were without aviation background.To bridge the gap, experienced aviation experts, including pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers and weather specialists were quickly recruited while the staff without aviation background were sent to NCAT, Zaria for sound professional training.

    “All technical staff were thereafter sent to Cranfield University in United Kingdom to be trained as professional accident investigators putting them on same footing with their counterparts in other parts of the world. The five regular technical staff have since been receiving several trainings that can positioned them to be Accident Investigator In Charge.

    “The new staff recruited to boost the technical department and meet our succession plan have been put on training at NCAT, Zaria.

    ‘’This is a medium/long term plan. Recruiting staff is a continuous exercise in AIB. The bureau may further recruit certain categories of experienced aviation professionals to further boost the technical department and prepare us for the future exit of the contract staff.”