Medview Acquires More Aircraft, Begins International Operation
Nigeria’s fast growing airline, Medview has acquired large-body aircraft, Boeing B767ER in line with its plan to kick off international operations service to Middle East and Europe.
During the delivery of the aircraft on Sunday, the CEO of the airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole said the aircraft would be used to airlift pilgrims for Hajj service, which would begin on August 16th and afterwards it would be used to introduce new international route.
Bankole said that indigenous carriers should be encouraged to operate international service because foreign airlines are exploiting Nigerian passengers with exorbitant fares and called on government to review the policies that hamper international air service by local airlines.
“I want to tell you that something came to my mind. From my experience since the few days that I have been travelling, getting out of London is so expensive and we have only two airlines that come directly to Lagos: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Among the countries we have got the destinations are Jeddah and Dubai. So we are putting London on the forefront and that is in the couple of months.
“The British authority through the Nigerian government is aware we are designated. We have been given Lisbon by the government of Portugal, so we are looking at the European side. But we are launching this aircraft to Jeddah on August 16 to start the pilgrimage. So we close the first phase on September 16, continue through October and them the aircraft will be ready to start international operation in November,” the CEO said.
Bankole explained that the aircraft named Abeke was not leased but acquired by Medview and with it the airline now has five aircraft in its fleet.
“This airplane is owned by Medview with registration number 5N-DQN and I gave it the name, Abeke in memory of my mother. The aircraft has 30 business classes and the total capacity today is 221 and if we decide to reconvert the aircraft to all economy it takes about 300 passengers. But for the purpose of the executive market we are selling, we decide to leave the aircraft the way it is. Every seat has TV screen so there is in-flight entertainment for both the business and economy passengers,” he said.
Bankole said it is very important for Nigerian carriers to be encouraged to operate international destinations so that they would benefit from the huge market and whatever is earned would be used for manpower development and creation of jobs in the country.
He added that in the airline’s plan to fly to London, it is still considering whether to fly to Gatwick or Heathrow, a decision the airline would make after getting the right documentations to operate the route.
“We are procuring the right papers to start operation to London and you know, Heathrow is the in-thing. Heathrow takes in almost 73 million people per annum while Gatwick takes in almost 35 million. We are looking at the link between bringing Nigerians to Gatwick and linking with the British rail and take the passenger as complimentary to Victoria. Or we are looking at Heathrow.
“The beauty of it is that as I am talking to you I have the crew already. Two sets have graduated from Pan Am. They will be coming home on Monday (August 3, 2015). They are Nigerians. Some of my pilots on Boeing 737 have been upgraded to Boeing 767. They are already on conversion course which will last 25 days and some of them have graduated. So by the end of this operation it is going to be Nigerians,” Bankole said.
He also explained that it was necessary that Nigerian airlines operate international destination in order to stem the outrageous fares which foreign carriers charge Nigerian passengers.
“What I saw when I was returning from London to Nigeria was shocking. I called my staff to buy business class ticket on Virgin Atlantic and the cost was over N1 million, so I rejected it and I have to buy Air France ticket at N5050, 000 and I came through Paris and I am now back home. So they are exploiting us. Let them know that for real.
“Like as we have always said to everybody here, government opened the door too wide and that is why we are suffering what we are suffering. We gave them the opportunity to have everything in our country but we cannot be given such in their own countries. I told you earlier in the year that before I got my destination in Saudi Arabia I paid bank guarantee. Nigeria is even telling them they should abolish commercial charges. So let us keep everything close, believing the new government on ground will do something,” he said.
The airline plans to bring in Boeing 777 in the few weeks for Hajj operation as it is billed to airlift about 10,000 pilgrims to the Holy Land.
“We are also bringing the Boeing 777 for the Hajj. It will be the first time in history. The NCAA people have been sent to Atlanta to inspect the aircraft. We will be the first airline to bring in the aircraft in Nigeria. We are starting the Hajj airlift on August 16. We are in charge of all the South West, all the Eastern part and Maiduguri. We are airlifting about 10,000 pilgrims,” Bankole added.
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