The Nation Newspaper

Tag: flights

  • Nigerians to enjoy internet on Lufthansa flights

    Lufthansa Airlines and Austrian Airlines will offer high-speed internet on many of their short and medium-haul flights.

    Passengers have choice among three service packages at three, seven or twelve euro.

    This means a seamless internet connectivity from the long-haul flights like from Nigeria that have been equipped with this  technology for a while now.

    Internet access will be available on Eurowings flights in a few weeks’ time. Up till now, 19 Lufthansa A320 family fleet aircraft, as well 31 Austrian Airlines and 29 Eurowings aircraft have been fitted with the necessary Wifi technology and satellite antennae for this service. Additional ones are in the process of being equipped.

    This new high-speed technology has been successfully tested in the past months on both Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines flights.

    The internet access works simply via Wifi using the passengers’ own mobile devices. The offers range from messaging services through surfing the net and even to video streaming.

    Customers can choose from one of three service packages. On Lufthansa flights, they comprise FlyNet Message for three euro FlyNet Surf for seven euro and FlyNet Stream for twelve euro per flight.

    Austrian Airlines will offer the same services at the same prices  under the names my Austrian FlyNet Message, my Austrian FlyNet Surf and myAustrian FlyNet Stream. Passengers can either pay via credit card or payment services such as

    PayPal. Soon it will also be possible to make purchases by using Air Miles or via roaming partners.

    The internet provision of the Lufthansa Group airlines and their technology partner Inmarsat uses the most advanced broadband satellite technology (Ka-Band) and offers seamless and reliable coverage on short- and medium-haul flights via the Inmarsat network Global Xpress (GX). The internet service provider and partner of Inmarsat is Deutsche Telekom. Lufthansa Technik is responsible for fitting the systems and components, as well as dealing with the required aviation regulations and other statutory authorizations.

    They are currently equipping the entire Airbus A320 family fleet of Lufthansa Group Airlines  Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings. Lufthansa Systems is providing the necessary technical infrastructure for internet connection on board. This includes the network operation in the aircraft  the technical prerequisite for Wifi on board  as well as the provision of the required software for the operation of each airline’s respective internet portal, through which the passenger gains access to the net.

  • Lufthansa goes online on short-haul, mid-range flights

    Passengers on Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines  could send emails from a height of 10,000 meters and also shop online while flying, stream videos above the clouds – and all of that with broadband quality.

    These are innovations about to be introduced on the two airlines. Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines will be able to go online on shorter journeys too – as they have already been able to do for some time on long haul flights like on the Nigerian routes.

    “This great news means that passengers from Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt can connect seamlessly to the internet while traveling to any destination in Europe, Middle East and Northern Africa”, said Mr Robin Sohdi, Lufthansa country manager in Nigeria.

    Last summer, Lufthansa received the so-called Supplemental Type Certificate for the Airbus fleet A320 from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and successfully concluded all the necessary preparation work. Now the next stage of testing on Lufthansa and Austrian routes will start, initially involving five aircraft in each case. Passengers who fly on these aircraft will be offered free Internet use during this test phase. The analysis of the user behaviour will provide the data necessary to further enhance the service ahead of its market launch.

    Harry Hohmeister, member of the Board of Directors of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and responsible for Hub Management, said: “I am pleased that we can soon offer broadband Internet to our passengers on inner-European flights, giving them the chance to have a seamless digital experience. Since the launch of Lufthansa Flynet, it has been our goal to offer added value on board to our customers through innovation – and that also includes our Internet provision”.

    In the first quarter of 2017, the number of Lufthansa aircraft fitted out with Internet access will rise to around 20. One by one, the entire Lufthansa A320 fleet is to be equipped with the latest advanced technology by the middle of 2018.

  • Lufthansa cancels 912 flights as pilots strike enters Day 2

    The strike by Lufthansa pilots in support of a pay demand is in its second day on Thursday, with the German flagship carrier cancelling 912 flights for the day.

    The strike has hit the travel plans of some 100,000 long-and short-haul passengers.

    The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) Pilots’ Union announced that the strike, the 14th in a dispute stretching back to April 2014 would be extended to a third day on Friday, from the two originally planned.

    The stoppage, aimed at pressing demands for a backdated pay increase of 22 per cent over the five years to April 2017, grounded 876 flights on Wednesday.

    In total, 215,000 passengers have been affected over the first two days.

    Report says the Friday action is likely to hit primarily short-haul flights taking off within Germany.

    The company said it planned to service all its long-haul destinations on Friday.

    Airports across Germany were noticeably quieter than usual, with Munich badly hit as well as the main hub near Frankfurt.

    Group human relations head Bettina Volkens repeated a call for the union to enter into arbitration with Europe’s largest airline.

    However VC spokesman Joerg Handwerg rejected arbitration, saying pilots had been “uncoupled from changes in pay in Germany for the past five years” and that they were no longer prepared to be left on the sidelines.

    Chaos was avoided by many Lufthansa passengers simply staying away from airports.

    The company was providing ongoing information on its website and arranging alternatives for stranded passengers

  • Arik Air cuts flights over aviation fuel scarcity

    Scarcity of aviation fuel , otherwise known as Jet A – 1, is taking a huge toll on domestic flight operations, forcing major carrier Arik Air to reduce flights.

    Flight reduction, the airline said is an intervention measure taken to cope with the situation .

    The airline’s spokesman, Mr. Adebanji Ola said in a statement that aviation fuel scarcity started manifesting last week when major oil marketers began to ration the supply of the product to airlines.

    Ola said Arik with its daily need of about 500,000 litres to operate 100 daily flights is most affected by the current scarcity .

    He said the carrier had to re- route one of its flights to Port Harcourt to pick fuel.

    Ola said : “With a daily fuel need of about 500,000 litres and an average of over 100 daily flights, Arik Air is mostly affected by this scarcity which is the fourth this year alone. One of the airline’s flights to Johannesburg on Tuesday had to be routed via Port Harcourt to pick up fuel.

  • Arik Air scales down flights due to aviation fuel scarcity

    Arik Air scales down flights due to aviation fuel scarcity

    Arik Air on Wednesday announced reduction of flights due to the lingering scarcity of JET A1 (aviation fuel).

    The airline made the announcement in a statement by its Communications Manager, Mr Ola Adebanji, in Lagos.

    Arik Air said that aviation fuel scarcity started manifesting last week when major oil marketers began to ration supply of the product to airlines.

    It said: “With a daily fuel need of about 500,000 litres and an average of over 100 daily flights, Arik Air is mostly affected by this scarcity which is the fourth this year alone.

    “One of the airline’s flights to Johannesburg on Tuesday had to be routed via Port Harcourt to pick up fuel.

    “As a result of the worsening supply situation of aviation fuel, Arik Air has announced further reduction in flights from Nov. 16 to cope with the fresh scarcity.’’

    According to the airline, the reduction will reduce unpleasant flight delays and cancellations which passengers have experienced in recent times.

    It said that an oil marketer issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on Saturday, alerting of non-availability of the product in Lagos.

    Arik Air added that another marketer said it was running out of the product in Lagos with limited supplies in Port Harcourt and Abuja.

    “This development has started taking its toll on Arik Air due to the airline’s large scale operations, with flights being delayed across the country and, in some cases, cancelled especially for airports without airfield lighting.”

    It appealed for the understanding of its customers whose flights were likely to be affected by the scarcity and scaling down of operations.

    It said that would notify passengers through SMS or email messages in situation where flights would be delayed or cancelled due to the scarcity.

    NAN reports that the Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, had at the weekend, assured stakeholders in the sector that the government was making efforts to address the scarcity.

    Sirika said that the long-term target of the government was to ensure local production of aviation fuel to make the product easily available for airline operators. (NAN)

  • Nigeria-bound flights refuel overseas

    Nigeria-bound flights refuel overseas

    Foreign airlines flying to Nigeria have started to refuel abroad to bypass pricey, and increasingly scarce, avaition fuel (Jet A1) as the oil producer battles a hard currency shortage that has made fuel available only at a very high price.

    It is the second blow for airlines operating in Africa’s recession-hit biggest economy in a year that first saw the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) make it almost impossible to repatriate profits from ticket sales as it tried to prevent a currency collapse.

    Dubai-based Emirates has started a detour to Accra, Ghana, to refuel its daily Abuja-bound flight, a spokesman said. The airline already cut its twice-daily flights to Lagos and Abuja to just one.

    The move was aided by a substantial drop in Ghana’s jet prices amid tax reform last month, according to the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors.

    Air France-KLM said it had refueled abroad in “very exceptional cases” by juggling suppliers and stomaching extra costs.

    Germany’s Lufthansa is loading more fuel in Frankfurt for its Lagos flight, where the ground staff doubt their ability to refuel for the final destination of Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, an executive said. The airline did not respond to official requests for comment.

    The scarcity has even pitted airlines against local consumers; a surge in demand for cooking and heating kerosene during the rainy season, when households cannot easily burn wood or charcoal, means if the airlines do not pay up, marketers will sell to locals.

    The crash in the naira since a devaluation in June has led firms who market jet fuel locally, such as Total, Sahara and ConocoPhillips, to double the price to N220 a litre in August, and to as much as N400 this month, an airline executive said.

    Even at the higher costs, marketers’ lack of dollars has made fuel scarce. Some carriers have had aircraft stuck, or were forced to cancel planned journeys, after frantic last-minute calls from ground staff warned there was no fuel available.

    Economist with Capital Economics, John Ashbourne, said: “The economy is crying out for investment, and now it is going to be even harder for anyone to visit. Who is going to want to park a billion dollars in a country that you can’t even easily fly to? It sends the worst possible signal.”

    A spokesman for state-run oil firm, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) did not answer calls for comment.

    The CBN hoped floating the naira would attract dollar inflows, but the naira sunk by 50 per cent, forcing oil firms to charge airlines, stuck with piles of naira, in dollars for jet fuel.

    “It’s an impossible situation. The oil marketers don’t want to sign long-term agreements anymore so we have to accept whatever prices they demand. We sell tickets in naira and now they want us to come with dollars,” one airline exec said.

    Spain’s Iberia and United Airlines cancelled their Nigeria services earlier this year, and two local carriers also halted operations. Other international airlines responded by boosting ticket prices within Nigeria, charging its globe-trotting elite as much as $2,000 for an economy class ticket to Europe to cut losses-more than double the cost of a Lagos ticket bought abroad.

    Airlines met with transport ministry officials last week in Abuja to press for fuel at lower prices, industry sources said.

    Nigeria used to be one of the most profitable markets for foreign airlines, landing planes with plenty of first and business class to cater to executives and officials jetting around under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    President Muhammadu Buhari cut air travel allowances for officials in a bid to tackle graft; others simply have less spending power with consumer inflation running at an 11-year high of 17 per cent.

  • Power outage disrupts flights at Lagos airport

    •FAAN apologises to airlines, passengers

    Flight operations at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, was at the weekend disrupted by power outage.

    Last  night, the primary source of power was yet to be restored, forcing the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) to run the facility on independent generators.

    Consequently, airlines found it difficult to initiate on time departures at the airport.

    The outage, a source hinted, has caused damage to the air-bridges used by airlines to disembark passengers.

    This has affected the operation of international airlines as they resorted to disembarking passengers at the ramp.

    The source hinted that when power temporarily  restored, it caused damage to the facility, thereby rendering it unserviceable.

    FAAN’s spokesman Yakubu Dati confirmed the incident.

    He said: “There was a power outage from PHCN and the airport was on our independent power supply.

    “However, when power was restored, the surge adversely affected the k16 transformer that serves the Air-bridges and rendered them unserviceable. This adversely affected operations of departing flights. The heavy rainfall further delayed attempts by engineers to effect repairs immediately.

    “FAAN wishes to apologise to passengers, airlines and the public for the inconvenience caused by this development as efforts are being made to find a lasting solution.”

  • Emirates celebrates 859,000 flights with Boeing 777

    Emirates celebrates 859,000 flights with Boeing 777

    Emirates, the world’s largest operator of the U.S. Boeing 777, has celebrated the fleet completion of 859,000 flights.

    Emirates pilots globally have  logged over 4,720,000 flight hours since the delivery of its  first Boeing 777  in 1996.

    Last week, the airline and Boeing marked the 150th Emirates 777 delivery milestone, with a triple delivery of two Boeing 777-300ERs and one Boeing 777 Freighter.

    Emirates has an order book of 196 Boeing 777s valued at $93 billion at list prices.

    “Emirates’ approach to global air travel has created substantial additional demand for U.S.-made aircraft and engines, and benefited millions of travellers,” said its President, Sir Tim Clark.

    “The Boeing 777 makes up the majority of our fleet, and gives us the range and flexibility to provide non-stop services to almost any city within a 16-hour flying range of our hub in Dubai.Our orders for these efficient jets have come on the back of our steady growth in the U.S. and globally. We are proud to connect U.S. cities to tourism and trade opportunities in destinations across Asia, Africa and the Middle East which were previously underserved by direct air transport links.

    “It’s clearly a win-win situation when our investments in U.S.-made technology together with our global operations help to support U.S. jobs and strengthen American prosperity.”

  • MedView kicks off direct flights to Jeddah

    The Federal Government has designated Med-View as flag carrier to Saudi Arabia. As a result, the airline has commenced flights to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

    The four-weekly flights are sequel to the approval the firm secured from the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority (GACA).

    The Managing Director of the airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, said the flights would be routed through Lagos-Abuja-Jeddah and Lagos-Kano-Jeddah.

    This is just as the schedule released by the airline coincides with the this year’s Hajj airlift to accommodate international passengers who will not be on the platform of the states’ Pilgrims Welfare Boards for the pilgrimage, and others not on pilgrimage.

    The flights, which started on September 6, according to Bankole, will run throughout summer.

    The GACA, Bankole said, has also okayed the winter schedule for the weekly flights.

    He said the airline will serve the routes  granted it by the Federal Government. They include London, Dubai, Dakar, Accra, Monrovia,  Libreville, Doula.

    He said the airline has continued to maintain its over 10 years’track-record of hitch-free operation in the airlift of pilgrims, saying: “In the 2015 Hajj we operated with much more modern equipment that have business class seats for officials of pilgrims boards from the various from stated that were allocated to us by NAHCON.”

    Med-View airline airlifted pilgrims from Southwest, Southsouth, Southeast states and Borno.

    Meanwhile, a source said the airline was rooting for the Lagos-London route, but details were being kept under wraps until the arrangements had been concluded.

  • ‘Non-direct flights hindering Nigerian, Brazilian trade’

    The President, Nigerian-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NBCCI),Mr Emmanuel Ibru, has decried the absence of direct flights between Nigeria and Brazil,saying it is the major hindrance to trade between both countries.

    He said for Nigeria to tap into the Brazilian government’s new policy to internationalise its businesses,there must be direct flights as  it was 25 years ago.

    He said this over the weekend at a meeting of the Chamber in Lagos.

    He said: “Currently, it takes about 14 hours to travel to Brazil as a result of taking connecting flights instead of the six hours’ direct flight would have made possible and this is not good for trade and investmenty.”

    “Taking connecting flight is expensive for both business and tourism; Dubai is eight hours,yet people still go there because there’s a direct flight and Brazil has a lot to offer Nigeria, culturally, too, as direct flights will opened up trade between the countries.”

    He said the balance of trade between the countries is skewed in favour of Nigeria, adding that Nigeria was the main exporter of oil to Brazil, which was  $7billion per year.

    Ibru continued:”We looked at what Brazil did years ago as Nigeria is at where Brazil was 25 years ago and we want to replicate the same here as we feel there’s a lot of experience and technical know-how to grow our trade and improve the economy that we can learn from Brazil.

    “There’s potential for a lot of intercontinental trade and investments. We have a lot of resources that technical know-how from Brazil can help develop as we have the same terrainy,beliefs and, basically, the chamber is there to facilitate that and others.’’

    The Vice Consul, General Consulate of Brazil, Mrs Benedita Simonetti, said Brazilian firms are eager to take advantage of the business opportunities in Nigeria,but that they are afraid due to lack of information.

    She said Brazilian business owners believed that Africa is a closed market as the Chinese and Indians has taken over, coupled with unstable government policies and news of corruptiony, Nigerian business owners has to reach out more for investment partners from Brazil.