Virgin nigeria to acquire 34 new Aircraft
By Our Reporter - 27.06.2006 Nigeria’s flagship airliner, Virgin Nigeria, seeks to increase its fleet six-fold in the next four years and become West Africa’s equivalent of South African Airways. Director of Sales and Outstations, Mike Higgins, who is based in Lagos, told a South Africa-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting in Rosebank, South Africa, yesterday that the carrier would, from tomorrow, have been flying out of Lagos for a year using a fleet of six aircraft to transport 500,000 passengers and 1,000 cargo. By 2010, it aims to be flying 40 aircraft to 40 destinations with 6,000 staff, making it West Africa’s equivalent of South African Airways. It also already has some interline agreements in place and is tying up more partnerships that will make travelling to destinations it does not land in as seamless as possible. It also aims to operate its own hangar. Already, its entry into Dubai, on June 2, is paying dividends as at least 15 of its cargo is being flown into Lagos three times a week. Higgins sees the carrier moving more into cargo, and acquiring a freighter of its own. However, he stated that while it was a pleasure carrying cargo into Lagos, getting it back from customs is not always that easy. The airliner is also close to a deal that will see passengers taken to the Lagos airport by helicopter, cutting a one-and-half-hour trip down to seven minutes. Higgins said that the ‘fly through’ check-in would see additional infrastructure being built soon. Despite the liner’s apparent success, flying in Nigeria is not without its challenges, according to Higgins. “Starting a new airline in Nigeria certainly had its challenges.” Issues that need to be tackled include availability of aircraft as well as a skills shortage and the aviation infrastructure requiring ‘massive’ investments. Yet Virgin Nigeria is determined to overcome these challenges and has already launched a cadet school to train engineers, pilots and cabin crew. In addition, it seeks to play an active role in infrastructure provision when that goes ahead. Nigeria is a breadbasket in terms of its natural resources and the airline is the heart of the business. Virgin never intended creating an African carrier, but rather a world-class carrier, based in Lagos. The Nigerian government started the ball rolling in 2004 when it put out tenders for an independent flagship carrier. The carrier is 51 per cent owned by Nigerian institutional investors and 49 per cent owned by Virgin Atlantic Airways, which, in turn, is 51 per cent owned by the Virgin Group and 49 per cent owned by Singapore Airlines.

ET, KQ and SAA have a new rival in Africa...

34 aircraft :shock: That is more than KQ's current fleet size!!! That is a massive fleet expansion in African aviation terms!! Will the buy or lease the aircraft?? Any idea which aircraft type(s)we're looking at here?? As Rwandan Spotter put it, let the rivalry begin. Am sure this announcement will be the subject of discussion in the boardrooms of ET, KQ and SAA pretty soon. Cheers, Walter.

Very ambitious, maybe too ambitious for the moment? South Africa has a big diversified economy; Kenya and South Africa have a lot of tourists all year round. And ET and KQ catch a big chunk of the cargo/trade market between Africa and Dubai/East Asia. Nigeria does not have a big diversified economy, does not have a tourist sector, not even a potential one for years to come, and many competitors when it comes to routes to Dubai and Asia. Major carriers serving Nigeria earn their money from premium oil travellers, and to a lesser extent Nigerians abroad travelling home for the holidays. Oil companies have their preferred carriers for the moment and Virgin Nigeria is not one of them. The Nigerian Diaspora market is highly seasonal. KLM flights between AMS and Kano/Abuja fill up only between June-September and around Christmas, the rest of the year they’re nearly empty. They serve Lagos with a 777/MD11 in those periods, the rest of the year a 767. On the domestic market as on West Coast routes Virgin has strong competition from many smaller carriers. 34 planes sounds nice, but how on earth are they going to fill them with passengers? I do hope though that VK is going to stay (they set standards in maintenance), but I hope they don’t expand too ambitiously. NB 1 A colleague flew Kano-Abuja last week on VK, they had five passengers! NB 2 They'd better start expanding MMA, to accommodate those 34 planes

Probably they will use Lagos as the West African hub to the rest such as Middle east , far east and Europe, They Take experiences from Branson Virgin Atlantic . Second there is a lot of African Market to be explored.

I do not think the market in West Africa /Nigeria is that big at the moment and can sustain a 40 aircraft hub operation, in the light of all the competitors around. And VS serves point-to-point markets and does not have much experience in running a smooth hub operation. Anyway the future will tell.

Eberkhout, I understand where you're coming from in terms of expansion constraints (lack of diversified economy and limited airport capacity). However, one needs to remember that the target fleet size of 40 aircraft is for 2010 and not 2006! Economic reforms are ongoing and have been very successful, note: 1- The aluminum sector was revived 2- oil and gas industry as big as ever and its need for air transport is on the increase. 3- Manufacturing, telecom, and light industrial sectors are all faring better and hopes are high that the solid minerals and tourism sectors will finally take off, generating income and employment, and hence a bigger need for air transport. 4- Population! 175,000,000 Nigerians will need a strong national carrier. Otherwise national development is a distant dream... 5- Nigeria's growing international status. Nigeria is no longer a pariah state but an active one in conference, sport, cultural, and political actitivty. As for airport capacity, I believe plans are in place to concession LOS international terminal on a similar basis as Abuja. This means we can expect the winning bidder to announce a MAJOR expansion project based on real, growing, commercial demand and not some glorified national pride. An extension of MMA terminal towards the cargo area is a real possibility. Just look at the available land, you will see there's enough room for at least 30 a/c stands! I think the best scenario is for VK to move into 1 or possibly 2 new fingers accomodating at least 25 gates. VK can opt for a long-term deal with the concessionaires guaranteeing both parties interests are protected. The older building can be retrofitted to make LOS a more attractive transit hub. VK hasn't said a word about a possible move of their domestic ops to the new domestic terminal. I think it makes sense, for them to streamline operations into a single building for smoother connections and passenger convenience...