President Ernest Bai Koroma of
Sierra Leone was at the Lagos, Nigeria, headquarters of Arik Air to
interface with the airline's executives and further cement a joint
venture agreement his country is developing with the fast-rising
carrier.
In the efforts to rev up cross-border air transport investments
in West Africa and create more choices for air travellers in the
region, the Sierra Leone government has gone into a joint venture
with the Nigerian carrier to form a new airline called Leone
Airways, which will be based in Freetown, the capital of Sierra
Leone.
The airline will service the
Freetown-London Heathrow route starting July, 2011 with two of
Arik's new 737-800 aircraft under a wetlease arrangement.
The Managing Director and Executive
Vice President of Arik Air, Mr. Chris Ndulue, says the Nigerian
airline has a contro-lling interest in the Leone Airways, as he
also reveals that the new airline already has a board and
manage-ment in place. Arik Air, he adds, will subse-quently
register a number of aircraft in Sierra Leone to support the new
air-line's operations.