Air Nigeria (formerly Nigerian Eagle Airlines and Virgin Nigeria Airways ) is the flagship airline of Nigeria , headquartered in Ikej ( Lagos ), operating in the field of regular passenger flights on the country's domestic routes and beyond. The airline’s home port and its main transit hub ( hub ) is Lagos Murtala Mohamed International Airport [1] [2]
| Air nigeria | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| ||||
| Established | 2004 | |||
| Base airports | Murtala Mohammed International Airport | |||
| Hubs | Murtala Mohammed International Airport | |||
| bonus program | Eagleflier | |||
| Fleet size | 12 | |||
| Destinations | nineteen | |||
| Parent company | Nicon Group (50%) Virgin Atlantic Airways (50%) | |||
| Headquarters |  Ikedzha , Nigeria | |||
| Site | web.archive.org/web/2012... | |||
The company has its own Eagleflier frequent flyer program.
Content
History
On September 28, 2004, the Government of Nigeria and the conglomerate of Virgin Group companies signed an agreement on the formation of the new Virgin Nigeria Airways airline, 51% of the property was transferred to investment institutions of the country, the remaining 49% - to the Virgin Group holding. The new company completed its first commercial flight on June 28, 2005, having flown from Lagos to London Heathrow Airport on an Airbus A340-300 . Virgin Nigeria Airways within a short time became one of the largest airlines in the country, transporting more than one million passengers and 4 thousand tons of cargo in two years. In 2006, the company received prizes “Best Airline of the Day 2006” [3] and “Best African Airline of 2006” from the Association of South African Travel Agencies (ASATA) [4] . The carrier’s management voiced plans to organize a second hub at the Nnamdi Azikive International Airport ( Abuja ) and create a route network of regular transport from its two hubs to all countries of West Africa [5] .
In 2007, Virgin Nigeria Airways passed the re-registration procedure with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), thereby satisfying the requirements of the state body for the need to recapitalize and re-register all Nigerian airlines until April 30, 2007 [6] .
Virgin Group Stock Sale and Airline Rebranding
On August 19, 2008, Virgin Atlantic management announced the start of negotiations on the sale of 49% of its shares in Virgin Nigeria Airways and on the feasibility of further use of the Virgin brand by the carrier [7] . The reason for this statement was the decision of the Ministry of Transport of Nigeria to transfer all domestic flights of the airline at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport from the international zone to Terminal 2 of domestic airlines without coordination with the carrier itself. Virgin Nigeria Airways twice protested the officials ’decision, citing a memorandum of understanding signed with the previous government, but the Lagos Supreme Court dismissed the company's appeals.
On January 9, 2009, Virgin Nigeria Airways announced the termination of all long-haul flights to London Gatwick Airport and Johannesburg from January 27 [8] .
On September 17, 2009, airline management announced a complete rebranding , a change in the company's website address, and a change in the official name of the carrier to Nigerian Eagle Airlines . The renewed airline’s announced strategy was to concentrate regular flights on domestic and regional flights, with further expansion on regular routes to European countries and airports in the United States of America [9] .
On June 2, 2010, after the acquisition of a controlling stake in the airline, a Nigerian businessman (already in the role of chairman of the board of directors) Jimokh Ibrahim announced the next change in the official name of the carrier to Air Nigeria Development Limited and the subsequent rebranding of all areas of the company’s activities [10] .
Routing Network
Partnership Agreements
- Kenya Airways ( SkyTeam Alliance) [11]
- Delta Air Lines ( SkyTeam Alliance) [12] [13]
Fleet
In April 2012, the following aircraft made up the air fleet of Air Nigeria [14] [15] :
| Type of aircraft | In operation | Ordered | Passenger seats | Notes | ||
| J | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A330-200 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 244 | 268 | Leased by EgyptAir |
| Boeing 737-300 | eight | 0 | sixteen | 100 | 116 | |
| Boeing 737-400 | one | 0 | ||||
| Embraer E-190 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 84 | 96 | |
| Total | 12 | five | ||||
Former Navy
Before rebranding, Virgin Nigeria's fleet consisted of the following vessels [16] .
| Type of aircraft | Total | In operation | Withdrawn | Notes |
| Airbus A320-211 | 2 | 2005 | 2007 | Leasing from BH Air |
| Airbus A330-200 | 3 | 2007 | 2007 | Leasing from bmi |
| Airbus A340-300 | 2 | 2005 | 2006 | Virgin Atlantic Airways Leasing |
| ATR 42-500 | one | 2008 | 2009 | Interstate Airlines Leasing |
| Boeing 737-300 | 2 | 2005 | 2007 | Leasing from GECAS |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 2 | 2007 | 2009 | SmartLynx Airlines Leasing |
| Fokker 50 | 2 | 2007 | 2008 | Denim Air Leasing |
Notes
- ↑ “ Registered Office Archived on May 18, 2012. . ”Air Nigeria. Retrieved on May 21, 2012. "159/161 Broad Street, Marina Lagos Island Lagos, Nigeria."
- ↑ “ AN Registered Offices .” Air Nigeria. Retrieved on June 28, 2010. "Registered Office 188 Awolowo Road South West Ikoyi Lagos, Nigeria. Head Office 9th Floor Etiebets Place 21, Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way Ikeja Lagos, Nigeria."
- ↑ Virgin Nigeria wins 2006 Airline of the Year award. , AllAfrica.com website, retrieved March 27, 2007
- ↑ Virgin Nigeria nominated for 2006 African Airline of the year Archived February 16, 2007. , Association of South African Travel Agents website, retrieved March 27, 2007
- ↑ Virgin Nigeria buys bevy of Embraer regional jets: AINonline Archived December 27, 2007.
- ↑ Nigeria Direct Archived February 14, 2008. May 2, 2007
- ↑ Virgin in talks to sell out of Nigeria
- ↑ Flights Have Now Finished Archived on June 3, 2009.
- ↑ Virgin Nigeria Rebrand As Nigerian Eagle Airlines Archived on September 22, 2009.
- ↑ Nigerian Eagle Airlines Rebranda As Air Nigeria Archived on June 12, 2010.
- ↑ Nigerian Eagle Airlines signs Codeshare with Kenya Airways (link not available)
- ↑ Nigerian Eagle Signs Code-share Deal with Delta Archived December 18, 2009.
- ↑ Delta Starts Codeshare Flights with Air Nigeria
- ↑ Aero Contractor Fleet
- ↑ Air Nigeria Fleet
- ↑ Virgin Nigeria Past Fleet