Nigerian Eagle Airline has debuted mid-September 2009 as the new brand to replace Virgin Nigeria Airways thus effectively ceasing the trading of the Nigerian flag carrier under the Virgin brand name. The new carrier still has 49% shareholding owned by Virgin Atlantic and 51% by Nigerian institutional investors. The change of name is the culmination of long-drawn controversies over the role of Virgin and Sir Richard Branson in Virgin Nigeria, the successor airline of Nigeria Airways that wound up in 2003. At inception, the promises as to the intent of Virgin Nigeria and its contributions to the Nigerian economy were not few. Virgin’s investment in the now defunct Virgin Nigeria, it was said, would bring more investments in many sectors of the Nigerian economy. However, by the time the agreement was consummated to give birth to Virgin Nigeria, it became more obvious to discerning industry watchers that the agreement was skewed in favour of Virgin, while the odds were stacked against Nigeria. Part of the grouse that faced Virgin Nigeria was that it was allocated choice routes of New York, Johannesburg, London, Jeddah, amongst others, on an exclusive basis. Yet Virgin Nigeria, instead of joining other major flag carriers to fly into Heathrow, was pushed to Gatwick, a less attractive airport for Nigerian passengers. Five years down the line, the Nigerian Eagle Airline is inheriting a huge debt and Nigeria is not replete with investments from the Virgin Group as earlier promoted. Yet, Virgin Atlantic was one of the few airlines in the world that have made profit in the present economic crisis. However, many have argued that Virgin Nigeria, in spite of the imperfections of its founding agreement, has contributed to raising the profile of domestic airline operation in Nigeria. It also played a major role in setting safety standards for the industry. It is one of the airlines in Africa that listed on the International Air Transport Association (IOSA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry. The Nigerian Eagle Airline is a premium service airline with domestic and regional focus, though it may consider the long-haul market in its current 5-year plan. Many are excited at the discontinuation of the Virgin brand considering the new carrier now has a more appropriate brand which emits African originality and pride backed by the technical support of Ethiopian’s experience, which is another win for proponents of intra-African cohesion. The success of the cooperation between the two African airlines would importantly serve as a template for partnerships amongst other African airlines. Observers caution that the Nigerian Eagle should now build on the safety standards that enabled Virgin Nigeria win the IOSA certification. It is, therefore, reassuring that the management of the new airline already has the Technical Service Agreement with world-class Ethiopian, easily one of the most successful airlines on the continent. Also inspiring is the leadership of Nigerian Eagle. Current Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Kinfe Kahssaye, is a veteran from Ethiopian, having previously served as the Executive Vice President of Strategic Business Units. The current Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Eagle, Capt. Dapo Olumide, is a veteran who cut his teeth at Aero, the oldest domestic airline in Nigeria. Indeed, as Capt. Dapo Olumide said, “the future of aviation in Africa lies on alliances as opposed to unhealthy competitions among airlines in the continent.”
The challenges before the new airline are many but surmountable. There is no doubt that passenger confidence contributed in no small way to the phenomenal expansion of the defunct Virgin Nigeria. Nigerian Eagle must continue along the line of prioritizing safety in its operations. Furthermore, schedule integrity of the Nigerian Eagle has to improve. But again, with the backing of Ethiopian whose success over the past 65 years has in part been underlain by sound on-time performance, Nigerian Eagle is expected to perform better on its schedules. Thankfully, with the arrival of brand new Embraer jets, some of the capacity issues would have been resolved. The current reassessment of its business model is plausible. However, as a major flag carrier of Nigeria noted for its highly mobile population, the place of Nigerian Eagle must be in the international arena especially if there is any hope of building an aviation hub in Lagos. Areas of growth abound in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and North America where Nigerian airlines are yet to utilize the country’s bilaterals.
With its scheduled capital-raising activity now being thought through, Nigerian Eagle may well be on its way to be positioned as a leading force in the Africa’s air transport system. But the coming days are very crucial.
End |
