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Virgin Nigeria
IATA ICAO Call sign
VK VGN VIRGIN NIGERIA
Founded2004
HubsMurtala Mohammed International Airport
Frequent-flyer programeagleflier
Fleet size6 (+9 orders, 6 options)
Destinations14
HeadquartersLagos, Nigeria
Key peopleCEO Conrad Clifford
Websitehttp://www.virginnigeria.com/

Virgin Nigeria Airways Limited is a Nigerian airline that operates scheduled international, regional and domestic passenger services. Its hub is Murtala Mohammed International Airport (LOS) of the Lagos area. The airline is a replacement for defunct Nigeria Airways. Its registered office is in Ikoyi, Lagos State, while its head office is on the 9th floor of Etiebets Place in Ikeja, Lagos State.[1]

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 its 1,000,000th passenger and 4,000th ton of freight within two years of operation. The airline has also received accolades including THISDAY Awards 2006 Airline of the year[2] and a nomination for 2006 African Airline of the year by ASATA (Association of South African Travel Agents). [3] Virgin Nigeria has plans of making Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja its second hub where in addition to its Lagos hub Murtala Mohammed International Airport it will serve all countries in West Africa. [4]

The Nigerian government set a deadline of April 30, 2007 for all airlines operating in the country to re-capitalise or be grounded, in an effort to ensure better services and safety. The airline satisfied the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s criteria in terms of re-capitalization and was re-registered for operation.[5]

On 19 August 2008, Virgin Atlantic announced that it was "in talks to sell it's 49 percent stake in Virgin Nigeria". It is also reviewing "whether it is appropriate that the Virgin brand should remain linked to Virgin Nigeria”.[6] The dispute arose after Virgin Nigeria's domestic operations were moved against its will by the Ministry of Transportation to Terminal 2. Virgin Nigeria had twice refused the directive to relocate its domestic operations from the international terminal citing the Memorandum of Mutual Understanding it signed with the previous (Olusegun Obasanjo) administration and pending appeal in a Lagos High court as reasons for not complying. As of August 2008, Virgin Nigeria reports that it is "temporarily" operating its domestic flights out of Terminal 2.

Destinations

Virgin Nigeria serve the following as of March 2009:

West Africa


Destinations served by Virgin Nigeria in the past: Benin City, Dubai, Enugu, Johannesburg, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Port Harcourt NAF Base, and Warri.

Fleet

The Virgin Nigeria Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of January 2009) [2]:

Virgin Nigeria Airways Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers
(Business/Economy) 		Routes Notes
Boeing 737-300 5 116 (16/100) Short and medium haul routes Leased from GECAS
Embraer 170 (7 orders) 67 (7/60) Short haul
Domestic services 		Entry into service: 2009
Deliveries: 2009-2011
Embraer 190 1

(2 orders)
(6 options)

96 (12/84) Short haul
Regional services 		Entry into service: 2008
Deliveries: 2008-2011
8 purchase rights

References

  1. ^ "VNA Registered Offices." Virgin Nigeria Airways. Retrieved on 20 January 2009.
  2. ^ Virgin Nigeria wins 2006 Airline of the Year award., AllAfrica.com website, retrieved March 27, 2007
  3. ^ Virgin Nigeria nominated for 2006 African Airline of the year, Association of South African Travel Agents website, retrieved March 27, 2007
  4. ^ Virgin Nigeria buys bevy of Embraer regional jets: AINonline
  5. ^ Nigeria Direct 2 May 2007
  6. ^ Virgin in talks to sell out of Nigeria
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