Virgin Nigeria Airways
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||
| Virgin Nigeria | ||
|---|---|---|
| IATA VK |
ICAO VGN |
Callsign VIRGIN NIGERIA |
| Founded | 2004 | |
| Hubs | Murtala Mohammed International Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | eagleflier | |
| Fleet size | 10 | |
| Destinations | 11 | |
| Parent company | Nigerian institutional investors (51%), Virgin Atlantic Airways (49%) | |
| Headquarters | Lagos, Nigeria | |
| Key people | CEO Conrad Clifford | |
| Website: http://www.virginnigeria.com | ||
Virgin Nigeria Airways is an airline based in Lagos, Nigeria and operates scheduled international, regional and domestic passenger services. Their hub is Murtala Mohammed International Airport (LOS) in Lagos. The airline is a replacement for defunct Nigeria Airways.
Contents |
[edit] History
On 28 September 2004 the Nigerian government and Virgin Atlantic Airways signed an agreement to establish a new airline for Nigeria, to be called Virgin Nigeria Airways. Nigerian institutional investors own 51% of the company and Virgin Atlantic Airways owns 49%. The airline's inaugural flight was on 28 June 2005 from Lagos to London Heathrow using an Airbus A340-300 aircraft. Virgin Nigeria has since gone on to become one of Nigeria's largest airlines carrying it's 1,000,000th passenger and 4,000 tons of freight within 2yrs of operation. The airline has also gotten many accolades including THISDAY Awards 2006 Airline of the year[1] and a nomination for 2006 African Airline of the year by ASATA (Association of South African Travel Agents). [2]
[edit] US flights
There are plans to launch scheduled flights from its Lagos hub to Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon and to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. This would replace the original services of the defunct and liquidated Nigeria Airways. However, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has denied the airline a permit for a direct Nigeria-U.S. service. The basis for this denial is a dispute over the degree of British ownership in Virgin Nigeria. The U.S. accuses the United Kingdom, and Virgin Atlantic Airways which holds a 49% stake in Virgin Nigeria, of blocking efforts to liberalize the North Atlantic market to American carriers and has retaliated by denying this permit. In turn, the government of Nigeria has denied Continental Airlines a permit for direct U.S.-Nigeria flights. Negotiations are pending to resolve this situation and reopen this lucrative route.
On 22 December 2005 Virgin Nigeria made a new filing to the United States Department of Transportation for a foreign carrier permit, which points out that the degree of Virgin Atlantic ownership in Virgin Nigeria (49%) is not a barrier to granting such a permit. DoT Filing DoT Exemption Filing.
Virgin Nigeria plans to add Newark as its first American destination, followed by Washington DC, (to cater for political and NGO traffic), and Houston (catering for oil and medical industries-related traffic).
In the hopes of expediting the filing, on June 13, 2006 the Nigerian government gave North American Airlines, a charter company specializing in direct flights to Africa from the US, permission to start direct scheduled flights from New York's JFK Airport to Lagos starting in late July.[3]
On Feb 7th 2007 Virgin Nigeria and North American Airlines announced entering into an agreement to cooperate on several fronts. The first being an interline agreement. A codeshare between the two airlines, as well as North American's support of Virgin Nigeria's pending DOT application were also part of the agreement[4]
[edit] Further expansion
Other regional routes will eventually be launched to Abidjan, Bamako, Brazzaville, Enugu, Freetown, Libreville, Luanda, Maiduguri, Enugu, Monrovia and Yola.
[edit] Fleet
The Virgin Nigeria Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of November 2006):[5]
- 1 Airbus A340-300 (leased from Virgin Atlantic Airways)
- 1 Airbus A330-200 (leased from bmi)
- 2 Boeing 767-300 (to be leased from LatCharter from May 07)
- 7 Boeing 737-300 (leased from GECAS)
- 1 Fokker-50 (leased from Denim Air)
By the end of the decade, the airline plans to have a fleet of 40 aircraft.
[edit] Destinations
Virgin Nigeria Airways serves the following destinations (as of March 2007):
[edit] Africa
- Nigeria
- Abuja (Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport )
- Calabar (Margaret Ekpo International Airport)
- Lagos (Murtala Mohammed International Airport)
- Port Harcourt (Port Harcourt International Airport)
- Kano (Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport)
- Owerri (Imo Airport)
- Sokoto (Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport)
[edit] Europe
[edit] Umrah/Hajj 2007
Service to Jeddah (King Abdulaziz International Airport} will be for the ferrying of pilgrims to/from Mecca. Points of departure are Lagos, Kano, Sokoto, Maiduguri, and Abuja.
[edit] External links
- Virgin Nigeria Airways
- virginbrand.com Unofficial blog of the Virgin Group
[edit] References
- ^ 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, Association of South African Travel Agents website, retrieved March 27, 2007
- ^ [1]
- ^ North American Airlines & Virgin Nigeria Enter Strategic Relationship, North American Airlines website, retrieved February 19, 2007
- ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006
Timeline of aviation
Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable military accidents and incidents · Notable airline accidents and incidents · Famous aviation-related deaths
Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft
| Virgin Group | |
|---|---|
| Virgin... | Active | Cars | Cinemas | Cosmetics | Digital | Drinks | Electronics | Experience Days | Fuel | Jewellery | Mobile | Money | Credit Card | Unite (charity) | Vie | Vines | Vodka | Voucher | Virgin Media |
| Airlines, Flights & Travel | America | Atlantic | Balloon Flights | Blue | Pacific Blue | Polynesian Blue | Express | Galactic | Holidays | Limited Edition Hotels | Limobike | Limousines | Nigeria | Trains | Vacations | TheTrainLine | Blue Holidays |
| Publishing and Entertainment | Artemis Records | Books | Comics | Interactive | Music | ouï fm | Play | Radio Asia | Radio Free | Records | V2 Records | V Festival UK, North America, Australia |
| Retail | Brides | Megastore | Spa | Ware |
| Richard Branson | Richard Branson | Richard Branson's business ventures |
