Gozzylous Blog

One of the most respected voices in the Nigerian aviation industry and the President of Aviation Round Table, ART; Capt. Dele Ore has warned the management of Arik Air to beware of the antics of operators on the United Arab Emirate, UAE, route Dubai. Ore in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos described airlines flying the route as ‘predators’ that would do everything possible to frustrate the airline out of the route. At the moment, Emirates and Etihad Airways fly directly from their bases in Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Emirates enjoys about 21 frequencies into multiple entry points into Nigeria, while Etihad flies twice daily into the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos. In all, the two airlines enjoy about 34 frequencies weekly into Nigeria. Apart from the duo, several other international airlines fly into the route from Nigeria after a stop over in the home countries. Airlines like Qatar, Egypt Air, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Asky among o...

Indigenous carrier, Arik Air, is to commence flight operations into Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of its international route expansion programme. The announcement, which was made by Arik Air’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Arumemi Ikhide, was indeed welcome news to numerous Nigerian travellers who ply the lucrative Lagos-Dubai route dominated over the years by Arab airlines. Aviation industry analysts had faulted the monopoly of that route by Mid-Easst airlines while welcome the entry of an indigenous carrier to ply the route to increase the options available to Nigerian travelers. Ikhide had told journalists that services would commence July this year from the Murtala International Airport in Lagos with a stopover at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport where other passengers would be picked up for the final journey to Dubai, UAE. He said the launch of flights by Arik Air into Dubai would make it the first Nigerian carrier to offer services between Abuja and the UAE. “Dubai ...

NCAA logo The Director of Consumer Protection Directorate of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Adamu Abdullahi, has said that bad weather, technical problems and logistics issues have made it inevitable for airlines to delay and cancel flights. He however pointed out that the airlines must crave passengers understanding by carrying them along. Adamu stated this at the weekend in Lagos when Arik Air offered four of its passengers, selected through a raffle draw, an all-expenses paid trip to Brazil. The four lucky winners were picked from the tickets of many loyal customers at a draw that was overseen by the music icon, Ice Prince. The names of the lucky winners are Onuegbu Chima Godwin, Fashawe Oluwayemisi, Aluko Bade and Samuel Bayode. The airline said the gesture was to say thank you to its customers and to give back to them, adding that there is plan to sustain the programme and expand it in future. The head of flight operations and deputy ma...

British Airways prepares to increase the number of flights it operates to Newcastle. With two additional frequencies between London Heathrow and Newcastle, the airline now offers 41 flights each week. Operated by an A320, the extra services are due to come into effect on June 2. British Airway’s head of UK&I sales and marketing, Richard Tams, commented: “Our route between London and Newcastle is at the very heart of our domestic network. “The number of flights on offer means customers can connect through London to our entire network of destinations, offering great opportunities for both leisure and business travellers.” Aviation development director at Newcastle International Airport, Chris Sanders, noted: “Heathrow connectivity is very important to this region.” “These extra flights will help make it easier to reach southeast England, as well as shortening journey times for some connections through Heathrow.” Source: www.routes-news.com/news

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Wednesday fixed May 17 to 31 for the conduct of 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) through Computer Based Test (CBT). This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Fabian Gabriel, the Head of Public Relations of the board, and issued to newsmen in Abuja. According to the statement, the CBT will take place in over 163 centres in Nigeria and abroad, saying the date was sacrosanct. The statement also described CBT as the best mode of examination. It, however, urged the candidates to reprint their e-slip in the event they missed or misplaced their schedules.“Over 616,000 candidates are expected to sit for the examination with over 250 prisoners in Kaduna and Ikoyi prisons,” it added. “The CBT remains the best mode as it provides better platform for the candidates to articulate their educational pursuit.“It eliminates result black-out or incomplete results and eliminates examination malpractice and enhances prompt ...

…Receives AOC from NCAA President of AZMAN Air Services Limited, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa has disclosed that the airline would start its flight operations tomorrow (Thursday). Alhaji Yunusa said the airline would begin its flight on Kano to Lagos by 7:30am, then Lagos to Abuja and Abuja to Kaduna. He stated that the airline would commence flight operations with two Boeing 737 classic. Speaking with journalists while receiving the Air Operators Certificate, AOC, at the NCAA annex, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Yunusa stated that the airline’s inflight services would be very good as passengers will be treated with care. Alhaji Yunusa expressed appreciation to the management of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, for the granting them the AOC. Similarly, the acting director general of NCAA, Engr. Benedict Adeyileka has tasked the management of AZMAN Air to ensure safety at all times as well as to protect and make their passengers more comfortable during the course...

Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline, said it has responded to passengers demand by increasing its flights frequency from Lagos-Monrovia (Liberia) and Lagos-Luanda (Angola) respectively. The Lagos-Monrovia service has been increased from three to four weekly flights using a Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The new flight will operate on Saturdays, adding to the existing Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays services. All four weekly flights are operated via Accra with a fifth freedom traffic rights approval facilitating traffic between these two cities as well. Similarly, the twice weekly Lagos-Luanda service has been increased to three weekly flights. The service will now operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The outbound flight will depart Lagos at 9:30pm (local time) and arrive in Luanda at 12:35am (local time) while the inbound flight will depart Luanda at 02:00am (local time) and arrive in Lagos at 05:05am (local time). Commenting on the additi...