FG cautioned on route choices, transparency with new Nigeria Air

The federal government has been cautioned on the routes the national carrier will ply and the need to be transparent in the entire process.

The new airline, Nigeria Air, which was unveiled yesterday at Farnborough is slated to commence operations in December, 2018 but concerns have been raised over its choice of routes that could amount to unhealthy competition with its partners.

Concerns have also been raised on the absence of legal framework in place which makes the process less transparent.

“I think whoever is planning route choices for the new national carrier should go into records and see what happened along same routes between Nigerian Airways and KLM; Nigerian Airways and SA Airways and Nigerians and Virgin Atlantic.

“You can’t go into the same business with your competitors as partners. When we talk of foreign technical partner investors, we are not talking of competitors as partners. I’m talking of the Gulf Air model that gave birth to the Emirates, Qatars and Etihad. I don’t see what we are about doing in foreign land as a birth of a national carrier but a replica of Virgin Nigeria or another Nigerian Airways rebirth as a government airline except it is a private airline not national,” John Ojikutu, member of aviation industry think tank group, Aviation Round Table (ART) and chief executive of Centurion Securities told BusinessDay.

Two days ago, Tewolde GebreMariam, Ethiopian Air’s chief executive officer, said he expected to face competition over the Nigerian project from Qatar Airways, which has staken in carriers including British Airways owner, IAG SA, and Latam Airlines Group SA, the biggest South American operator.

Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation at yesterday said 81 routes (domestic, regional and international) identified for now, for Nigeria Air, out of more than a thousand considered, adding that the Nigerian government will not own more than 5% (maximum) of the new National Carrier. Government will not be involved in running it or deciding who runs it.

However, Tayo Ojuri, an industry expert and Chief Executive Officer, Aglo Limited, an aviation support service suggested that the new carrier should first consolidate on the domestic routes, before going into regional and international routes.

“I will advise the operators of the new carrier to consolidate on the domestic routes for five to six years. It should cover both the primary and secondary airports. With its operations in secondary airports, it will able to ease movements. We still have a challenge of multi modal means of transport. With this, the airline can now go into alliance with other airlines, which will form a feeder to international operations,” Ojuri added.

He also expressed concerns over the airline not having any legal framework or act establishing it, which questions its transparency.

However sources close to the ex-Nigerian airways staff who craved anonymity told BusinessDay that the airline will not see the light of day except the government pays them 45 billion pension benefits of former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited (NAL).

Chris Aligbe, former General Manager, Public Affairs of Nigeria Airways, said, “the kind of airline we should have is one that the government does not own a controlling equity or manage. It is good, it is a highly responsible act for the present government to say we must re-establish a national airline but it should be re-established in the best way that it should be, not in the form of Nigerian Airways where government owned 100 per cent, no.

“It should be zero funding by government but the government should have equity; what we call sweat equity. Then once it is re-established, the Nigerian public should have access in two, three years to buy into the airline so that it becomes a property of Nigerians and government’s equity would be limited to about 10, 20 per cent, not more than that yet government should not invest any fund in it, funds should be used for other things, that is what we need.”

Sirika said the airline will be Private sector led and driven and government will not be involved in running it or deciding who runs it. The investors will have full responsibility for this.

“We’ve been talking to Airbus and Boeing (and they’re present at this event) regarding the aircraft for Nigeria Air, and we will be making announcements very soon. We are currently negotiating,” he added.

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