Nigerian start-up airline Green Africa Airways (Q9) will be launching its services from June 24 with tickets ready for purchase via its website, greenafrica.com from next week following pre-sales approvals from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The industry newcomer revealed its first set of routes about a week ago, with the new destinations including services to Abuja (ABV), Akure (AKR), Enugu (ENU), Ilorin (ILR), Owerri (QOW) and Port Harcourt (PHC), to be served with direct connections from the general aviation terminal at Lagos (LOS).
Nearly all the routes were chosen based on one of the airline’s major themes: serving city pairs with economic interests of its customers in mind.
“We are crafting a network plan that will afford more customers the opportunity to pursue their economic interest or simply spend more time with family & friends,” said Babawande Afolabi, Chief Executive Officer and Founder -Green Africa during the revealing of the new routes.
A new product
The airline will begin its operations with a total of three aircraft including both of the already delivered ATR72-600s from ACIA Aero Leasing. This delivery largely indicated the airline’s entry to Nigerian domestic market.
In addition, the newcomer will receive 50 new Airbus A220 jetliners, the biggest order of the aircraft type in Africa and valued at $3.5 billion with the carrier hoping to subsequently expand to African regional markets.
The airline has also introduced a frequent flyer program called the Gflyer Community to complement its services while also operating a single class product with customers having the convenience of choosing their travel extras.
Competition
While the airline will slowly be working its way up to what is expected to be a route network that spans the entire country and across international borders, the airline will face stiff competition from the likes of Air Peace and Azman Air which was recently cleared to resume its services after a safety related suspension.
By Victor Shalton Odhiambo
