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Tag: Kingsley Ezenwa

  • Dana Air wins best domestic airline award 2018

    Dana Air has won the award for Africa’s Best Airline of the year 2018 in the domestic operations category, at the Development in Africa Merits Award held recently at Sheraton Hotels, Lagos.

    DAMA awards is a yearly conference and awards ceremony organized annually by Delta Business School Limited to recognize  Corporate organizations and Individuals who have contributed immensely to the development of Africa through their service, humanitarian activities, business model and creativity.

    The merit award also celebrates leading businesses and academics in Nigeria and Africa who have raised the bar, and setting new standards through creative and innovative products, ideas and services.

    The Media and Communications Manager of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa , who received the award on behalf of the airline said: ‘We are honoured to be recognized as Africa’s Best Airline in the domestic category. This award is a confirmation that Africa and indeed the world is watching and we are glad that we are making Nigeria proud with our customer-centric products geared towards improving customer experience and value added services.’’

    Read Also: Dana Air wins award

    He noted that ‘exceeding the flying aspirations our guests,  and giving back to the society in which we operate are part of our secrets of success having flown for 10 years in Nigeria, and this award is a motivation for us to continue to raise the bar of our operational efficiency, safety and service delivery. ‘’

    He further stated that ‘our commitment to our core values, passion for the industry and our superior understanding of the flying public and the industry have kept us going despite the challenges, and our mission is to constantly earn the loyalty and respect of our customers by consistently demonstrating our commitment to service, and providing affordable regional air transport services that focus on innovation, quality and service excellence.’’

    Dana Air, 3-time winner of the airline of the year award at the Nigerian Aviation Awards, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a record breaking load factor, unrivaled on-time performance, world-class in-flight service and customer-centric products and services .

  • Our expansion plan, by Dana Air

    Dana Air has started discussions with some of its financial partners to enable it achieve fleet modernisation and route expansion, its Media/Communication Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa, has disclosed.

    In an interview at the weekend in Lagos, Ezenwa said discussions had reached advanced stages. But he did not name the partners because of the non-disclosure agreement reached by the parties.

    He said Dana Air will acquire more aircraft next year to achieve its route expansion and fleet expansion drive.

    The Dana Air spokesman said   the additional aircraft will enable the carrier airline achieve on-time performance using customer-centric products and best in- flight services.

    While awaiting the delivery of the airplanes, Ezenwa said the carrier has designed an interim measure – a smart aircraft scheduling team to cater to the needs of passengers during Yuletide.

    He said though the airline has five aircraft, it has pulled out two for the mandatory C-check.

    C-check is a major maintenance carried out on aircraft every 18 months in line with regulatory requirement by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    He said: ”However, we really feel the pain of our guests who have had to travel by road as a result of the shortage of aircraft across the country.

    “This has also occasioned a hike in fares and wish to reassure passengers of our commitment towards putting an end to this in the coming year.”

  • Domestic Flights: Travellers decry high price of air tickets

    Travellers on the domestic routes were on Friday hit with a drastic increase of air tickets, due to shortage of flights by local airlines. Shortage of flights is due to the reduction in number of aircrafts being used by domestic airlines in recent weeks.

    Some of the airlines said their aircraft were currently out of the country for maintenance purposes, while others claim that their planes were unavailable due to “operational reasons’’.

    However, the few operational airlines, as well as travel agents, have taken advantage of the situation to jack up their air fares, to the chagrin of intending travellers.

    The airlines operating at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) include: Arik Air, Air Peace, Overland Airways, Dana Air, Max Air, Medview Airlines, Arik Air (PH).Others are; Aero Contractors and Azman Air, which operate at the Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 (MMA2).

    A NAN aviation correspondent, who monitored the situation at both domestic terminals, observed that some travellers were stranded, due to their inability to get seats on the available flights.

    Also, the counters of Arik Air, Azman Air, Dana Air, Max Air, Aero and Air Peace witnessed a large number of passengers trying to book and pay ahead, in order to secure their seats.

    Air Peace Economy Class one way ticket on the Lagos-Abuja route, was being sold for N32, 700, as against N25, 500 before the flight shortage.

    Similarly, a Lagos-Port Harcourt one way ticket was selling for N42, 700 as against the previous fare of N35, 000, while Lagos-Uyo one way, was sold for N42, 700 as against N30, 700.

    An Arik Air economy class one way ticket from Lagos-Abuja was sold for N27, 548 as against N22, 560, while Lagos-Port Harcourt one way, was sold for N39, 000, as against previous fare of N30, 700.

     

    Read Also: Fuel scarcity: More domestic airlines cancel flights

     

    Mr Chris Iwarah, Air Peace Corporate Communications Manager, told NAN that five of the airline’s aircraft were pulled out of service for C-Checks abroad.

    Iwarah, in a statement, said the carrier was concerned about reports of shortage of scheduled flights across the country. He said that the airline was ready to do everything within its capacity to ease the pain of air travellers.

    “We urge members of the flying public not to entertain any fear. Most of our aircraft that went for C-Check will soon begin to return, to join our operations.

    “We are soon going to schedule more flights and deploy more aircraft across our domestic routes.“We have also made plans to cater to the upsurge expected during the Yuletide.

    “A lot of flights would be scheduled from around Dec. 17, to seamlessly take those travelling for Christmas and the New Year to their destinations.

    “As an airline, we prioritize safety and place a premium on the lives of our valued passengers and crew.

    “We have undertaken comprehensive maintenance of most of our aircraft to ensure their readiness for our end-of-year operations,’’ he said.

    On his part, Mr Kingsley Ezenwa, Media and Communications Manager, Dana Air, told NAN that the airline was currently undergoing re-certification by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    “We are currently undergoing re-certification which hopefully will be concluded in two days. As soon as we conclude, more flights will be available,’’ he said.

    Two travellers, Mr Peter Olaoye and Mr Ijeomah Ikechukwu, expressed concern over the shortage of flights. They urged the airlines to find lasting solutions to the problem, especially as the festive period was approaching.

    (NAN)

  • Dana Air extends Akwa United sponsorship deal

    A Nigerian carrier, Dana Air, has extended its multi-million naira sponsorship deal with the Uyo based Akwa United FC of Akwa Ibom for the 2018/19 Nigeria Premier League season.

    The airline’s Media and Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa, confirmed the development on Friday in Lagos.

    Ezenwa said that the deal was inked recently during a brief ceremony at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

    He said: “We are back again to extend what we started last year. We believe in Akwa United and the club actually did well last season and looks good for the next season.

    ”We are also committed to developing sports, particularly football in Nigeria.

    “We are the first airline to have taken this step toward making our league glamorous, and we hope other credible organisations will follow because we believe that our league can actually get to that level.”

    According to him, Dana Air is not just about flying to Akwa Ibom, but contributing positively to the growth and development of the state.

    Read Also: Dana Air partners group for Nigerian economic summit

    He also congratulated Nigerians and the Super Eagles on their qualification for AFCON 2019 in Cameroon.

    “We are proud of the Super Eagles of Nigeria for bringing glory to our country and for encouraging us to continue to believe in our greatness,” Ezenwa said.

    Also, the Chairman of Akwa United, Paul Bassey, described Dana Air as worthy partners and expressed delight that the contract had been extended for another year.

    “We are particularly grateful to Dana Air for this amazing partnership with our club.

    “This partnership has relieved us of the stress of tedious road travels to league matches, especially the Northern and Western parts of this country.

    “The success story of Dana Air in the Nigerian air space in the last 10 years is a clear testimony of your commitment to Nigerians.

    “We are proud to be associated with Dana Airlines through this sponsorship agreement.

    “We will be going into a new NPFL season confident that we will do well to bring glory to all our fans, supporters as well as Dana Air for identifying with and staying by us,” Bassey said.

  • Dana Air wins best customer service airline of the year award

    Dana Air  has won the Best Customer Service Airline award at MamaJ’s Aviation Careers Conference held recently in Lagos, at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Annex, Lagos

    MamaJ Aviation Careers conference is an annual seminar to create a platform to introduce and mentor aspiring youths and other invited guests to the many career opportunities that exist in the aviation industry and also to celebrate and honor outstanding Aviation Professionals and stakeholders who have contributed immensely to human capital development in the aviation industry in Nigeria.

    The Media and Communications Manager of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa, while receiving the award on behalf of Dana Air, said ‘I want to say a big thank to MamaJ Aviation Consult for this award. We are delighted that our customer centric products  and our efforts towards providing excellent service to our valued guests is being rewarded and this will only spur us to continue.’’

    Read Also: Dana Air introduces smart booking

    Kingsley while reacting to a comment by one of the invited guests about the short lifespan of airlines in Nigeria said,’ Dana Air will be 10 years in November and this only shows that we have a structure and management style that is worthy of emulation and we are in it for the long haul.’’

    Also speaking at the conference, the Founder, MamaJ Aviation Consult limited, Joy Ogbebo said, the conference is a non – profit career initiative to promote aviation education advocacy for youths in an emerging world.

    ‘The conference, every year brings together aspiring next generation of Aviation Professionals and Participants on the career opportunities that exist in the industry and I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors, partners and everyone involved in this project. She added’’

     

  • Dana Air partners group for Nigerian economic summit

    Dana Air said on Friday  that it is partnering the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) for the successful hosting of  24th Summit holding at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja from 22nd to 23rd October 2018.
    This year’s summit with the theme: Poverty to prosperity: Making Governance and Institutions Work, will provide a forum for policy makers and captains of industry from both private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy as well as academia, civil society organizations and development partners to interact and share thoughts on key issues and challenges facing the Nigerian economy.
    Commenting on the partnership, the Communications Manager of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa said, “We are proud to have become a key partaker and contributor to the success of a think-tank initiative such as the Nigerian Economic summit and it is coming up at a time when the issue of good governance and economic inclusion has become an existential one for our nation.’’
    As airline partner of the 24th Nigerian Economic Summit, Dana Air is providing a special discount to guests and delegates to facilitate their transportation to the summit in Abuja.
  • Dana Air welcomes audit

    Dana Air welcomes audit

    ……Assures passengers of safety

     

    Dana Air said on Thursday it has welcome on going probe of its operations by Federal Government.

    According to the spokesman of the airline, Kingsley Ezenwa, as much the carrier will not  join issues with aviation authorities over its aircraft that overshot the runway of Port Harcourt Airport.

    Ezenwa said air traffic controllers attached to Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) cleared the pilot in command of the aircraft to land.

    He said :” Dana Air wishes to thank the AIB for releasing the preliminary report on the Port Harcourt runway incident involving one of our aircraft on February  23, 2018.

    “Excerpts of the reports confirmed that the Air Traffic Control, an arm of the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency that is saddled with the responsibility of issuing instructions that the pilots are required to obey, had cleared the pilot in command to land.

    “It is pertinent to note that the pilot of that flight is a happily married man and a proud father of three beautiful children. He has over 30 years experience in the aviation industry and is one of the very best in his profession, meticulous in his duties, and headhunted from another domestic airline where he also served as the head of safety and quality standards.

    “Considering the safety measures that we have put in place and our huge investment in training and retraining of our crew and pilots, we decided not to join issues, but to rather wait on the report of the AIB, the authentic body responsible for such investigations.

    “We therefore welcome the recent audit ordered by the Federal Government and we are willing to work with the team and the FG to demonstrate our commitment not just to flying but to flying safe.

    “We wish to thank the minister of state for aviation, Hadi Sirika, who has proven himself as a technocrat, and our esteemed guests for keeping faith with us while the incident was under investigation and we wish to reassure our guests of our commitment towards providing safe, reliable and affordable air transport.”

     

  • CSR: Dana Air to fly US-based doctors on free medical mission to Uyo

    CSR: Dana Air to fly US-based doctors on free medical mission to Uyo

    As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, Dana Air has announced that it would partner Global Image Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation based in the U.S., on free medical/surgical/dental mission for the underprivileged in Uyo from March 5 to March 9.

    The airline made the announcement in a statement issued by its Communications Manager, Mr Kingsley Ezenwa, on Friday in Lagos.

    Ezenwa said the airline would also fly a team of 20 doctors based in the US from Lagos to Uyo, Akwa Ibom, for the mission, which would include providing quality care, conducting several training sessions and a laparoscopic surgical camp, thus educating the local medical community.

    According to him, the programme will also be an annual and bi-annual initiative creating a long-term relationship in developing the medical community.

    Ezenwa said, “Our commitment to the health and well-being of Nigerians has never been in doubt.

    “This goes beyond flying into a state, but providing necessary support and contributing positively to the lives of the indigenes of the state.’’

    Also commenting on the initiative, the founder of Global Image Foundation, Dr Essiet Mfonbong, said those who are not able to afford basic healthcare would benefit from the programme.

    Read Also: Air Force deploys 100 jets in search of 110 schoolgirls

    Mfonbong thanked Dana Air for being ahead of other corporate bodies in terms of supporting worthy causes in the state and for flying the mission team safely to Akwa Ibom.

    She advised the people to take advantage of the programme and strive for good health and wellbeing.

    Meanwhile, Dana Air has further confirmed its commitment to fighting cancer in Nigeria, with its recent support to Nigeria’s first and foremost Childhood Cancer Charity organisation called Children Living with Cancer Foundation.

    Ezenwa said the airline had also pledged to support the foundation’s Art competition themed Colours of Hope, in commemoration of the internationally-recognised day for childhood cancer awareness.

    “Dana Air, through its foundation, the Dana Foundation, has been providing support to communities and non-governmental organisations that share similar objectives.

    “The airline has since 2014 been supporting many cancer advocacy groups, particularly Project PinkBlue, in the fight against cancer in Nigeria,’’ he said in a statement.

    NAN

  • Dana Air introduces new payment plan for passengers

    Dana Air introduces new payment plan for passengers

    Dana Air has introduced another customer-centric product called “Pay with Dana Miles,’’ as part of efforts to enhance its service delivery to its customers.

    The Communications Manager of Dana Air, Mr Kingsley Ezenwa, announced this in a statement issued on Friday in Lagos.

    Ezenwa said with the “Pay with Dana Miles’’ initiative, members of the airlines’ frequent flyer programme could now use their miles as they desire, for payment of excess baggage or an upgrade from economy class to business class.

    According to him, they can also use it to exchange miles for tickets and still get loads of benefits attached to the frequent flyer programme of the airline.

    He said: “We are excited to introduce the ‘Pay with Dana Miles’ initiative, which offers our guests the opportunity to use their miles as they desire.

    “The pay with Dana Miles initiative is just our way of providing more options for our guests and keeping our strategic mission, which is to earn the loyalty and respect of our customers by consistently demonstrating our commitment to service.’’

    Ezenwa said the airline was also committed to providing affordable regional air transport services that focuses on innovation, quality and service excellence.

    He said being a member of the airlines’ frequent flyer programme offers an amazing opportunity to get value added services not just with the airline but with its partners across Nigeria.

    Ezenwa added that frequent flyers of the airline should expect more tailored benefits in the coming months.

    He said: “Our Dana miles members need not worry anymore when there are online payment issues, or bank issues, as they can get on their system and use their miles for as many functions as they desire.

    “Apart from all of these, members of our frequent flyer programme also get extra value not just with us, but with our partners across Nigeria, which include banks, hotels, cab companies and many more and these benefits are tailored to the needs of our guests.’’

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dana Air is one of Nigeria’s leading airlines with over 27 daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, Uyo, Port Harcourt and Owerri.

  • Bird strikes DANA aircraft during take- off

    Bird strikes DANA aircraft during take- off

    Palpable fear gripped over 100 passengers on board a DANA Air MD 83 aircraft on Friday when a huge bird hit the aircraft engine during take-off at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Sensing danger after the bird hit the aircraft engine, the pilot took the professional decision to discontinue the flight by making an air return.

    Air return is a safety precautionary measure taken by pilots by returning the aircraft to the aerodrome where it took off, if he is not convinced that the aircraft could get to its destination.

    The aircraft, a source hinted has been grounded as the airline’s engineers are evaluating the effects of the bird strike on the affected engine.

    Confirming the development, the spokesman of DANA Air, Kingsley Ezenwa, said, ” On 21st of April, one of our aircrafts with registration number 5N-SRI operating our 11:00 a.m. flight  from Lagos to Port Harcourt, had an air return due to bird strike during take-off from Lagos, and our captain took a professional decision and returned to the Lagos airport.

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

    “Our passengers have however been ‘reprotected’ 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 the affected engine.

    “At Dana Air, the safety and comfort of our passengers will remain a top priority to us and we will stop at nothing in our commitment towards offering a safe and reliable air transportation.”