Nigeria Airways: Difference between revisions

government of Nigeria owned a majority of the airline (51%) until 1961, when it boosted its shareholding in the company to 100% and made it the country's flag carrier. At the time of dissolution, the airline's headquarters were at Airways House in Abuja. Operations were concentrated at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and served both domestic and international destinations mainly concentrated in West Africa; the network also had points in Europe, North America and Saudi Arabia. The airline was managed by a number of foreign companies, including British Airways, KLM and South African Airways.^[2][3]

Boeing 377 Stratocruiser operated on behalf of the new airline linking London Heathrow with Lagos, and Douglas DC-3s flying domestic services and a run to Dakar, the last one in conjunction with Ghana Airways.^[11][12] On the same day, WAAC Nigeria signed a 15-year agreement with BOAC to charter Stratocruisers and Bristol Britannias for serving long-haul flights between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.^[10] The contract also contemplated that these routes would be operated in a pool agreement, whereby tickets could be issued by one airline for flights operated by the other, with the revenues being shared.^[11]

Vickers VC-10 services on behalf of Nigeria Airways from April 1964 until an aircraft of the type was acquired from the British state airline in October 1969 (1969-10);^[17] the airplane was destroyed in an accident in November that year.^[18][19] The first air link between Nigeria and the United States was launched in early October 1964 (1964-10). Called ″Operation Fantastic", it linked Lagos with New York and was operated by Pan Am using Boeing 707s and Douglas DC-8s, but an agreement between both countries allowed Nigeria Airways to sell a limited number of seats on these flights.^[20]

Fokker F28 entered the fleet on a lease agreement with Fokker, and later on aircraft of this type were ordered.^[27] In late 1972, a contract for management assistance was signed with Trans World Airlines, with the American carrier providing specialists in different managerial, commercial, and financial fields for five years,^[28][29] but the contract was never exercised.^[25] Nigeria Airways took delivery of three Boeing 707s in February 1973; they were put into service on the Lagos–London run immediately. Two Boeing 737s, with registrations 5N-ANC and 5N-AND, were delivered in the early 1970s.^[25]

Douglas DC-10-30.^[32] This DC-10 was a 300-seater, all-economy aircraft that operated between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. At this time the carrier took possession of two more 707s.^[25] A second DC-10-30 was ordered in early 1977.^[33] On 25 April 1977 an F-27, 5N-AAW, had an accident in Sokoto when it overran the runway, and on 1 March 1978 an F-28 (5N-ANA) had a fatal accident near Kano, killing all 16 occupants of the aircraft plus two more people on the ground.^[25] An order for two F28-4000s, that would complement the six F28-2000s the airline had in operation, was placed in late 1978.^[34] A contract similar to the one signed with TWA in 1972 was signed with KLM in September 1979 (1979-09), this time for a period of two years.^[35] It was mostly aimed at training Nigeria Airways' employees in airline management in order to make the airline efficient and profitable.^[25]

Zurich.^[40][41] The airline took possession of four new Boeing 737-200s in early 1983 that would replace leased aircraft of the same type; they were acquired with a loan of US$70 million that was arranged with seven major banks.^[42] On 28 November 1983, a Fokker F28 (5N-ANF) crashed while on approach to Enugu, claiming 23 lives from the 72 people on board.^[25] Following this accident the carrier decided to withdraw its Fokker fleet from service.^[43] A military coup d'état that took place in the last day of 1983 changed the structure of the government and the airline: Bernard Banfa was appointed managing director and many of the staff trained by KLM were dismissed.^[25] The 225-seater A310-200s were incorporated into the fleet in late 1984 and early 1985.^[36] Three of these aircraft bore the names Rima River, River Ethiope and Lekki Peninsula.^[25] The fleet was 22 strong in March 1985 (1985-03), comprising two DC-10-30s, four Airbus A310s, three Boeing 707-320Cs, two Boeing 727-200s, ten Boeing 737-200s, and one Boeing 737-200C; two Boeing 737-200s were on order and the carrier had 9,096 employees at this time.^[44]

ATR-42s.^[25] Financed by a Japanese leasing company, the carrier phased in the last DC-10 ever built; the aircraft was delivered in 1989, and replaced an aircraft of the same type that was lost in an accident two years earlier.^[55]

Douglas DC-8-61, registration C-GMXQ, crashed near Jeddah.^[25] In 1992, Nigeria Airways had three Boeing 707s impounded in Europe, and the number of flights experienced a 32% reduction following the termination of services to Conakry, Freetown and Robertsfield (Monrovia).^[25][56] Privatisation was first considered in 1993 with a proposal to split Nigeria Airways in two companies, one bearing the same name and operating domestic routes and a new one named Air Nigeria, which would undertake the international operations. In July 1994, an Airbus was impounded at London Heathrow Airport owing to a debt worth £100,000. On 21 December of the same year, a Boeing 707, registration 5N-ABK, crashed near Hadejia on a freighter flight from Jeddah, killing three of a crew of five.^[56] Further staff reductions continued throughout the first half of the 1990s, and at September 1995 the airline had 4,500 employees.^[57] In 1997 the UK Civil Aviation Authority banned the airline from operating into its territory citing safety concerns; in return, the Nigerian government barred British Airways from operating in the country.^[58][59][60] The service was restored in 1998 when the carrier began codesharing with British Airways, deploying a leased Boeng 747-200 that wore a Nigeria Airways livery and was operated on the Lagos–London Heathrow route with mixed English and Nigerian crews. By the late 1990s, the Nigerian government decided the carrier would be privatised by selling 40% and 20% to foreign and local investors, respectively, and keeping the rest of the shares.^[61] In 1999, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was commissioned by the Nigerian government to assist in the process of restructuring and privatisation of the airline.^[61] Among three options, one of them was to partner with a large European airline; Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, Swissair and Virgin Atlantic were all considered. Another alternative was to liquidate the carrier.^[62]

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 served a route network that included Abuja, Calabar, Douala, Dubai, Jeddah, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Kinshasa, Lagos, Libreville, London, Maiduguri, Malabo, Port Harcourt, Sokoto and Yola.^[63] A fleet that had numbered 32 aircraft in 1984^{[nb 2]} had gradually reduced to just three aircraft in October 2000.^[62] The United Kingdom cited safety concerns again in 2001 when it refused to allow Nigeria Airways to operate the Lagos–London route, this time regarding the Boeing 747 that was leased from Air Djibouti to fly the route.^[65][66] That year, the IFC withdrew from its advisory position citing the unwillingness of both the company and the government to carry out the necessary measures that would make the airline attractive to potential investors.^[67] Later on, there were various allegations claiming the airline's failure was accelerated by former Nigerian rulers who looted and mismanaged the company, to the extent that the government started an investigation into the disappearance of more than US$400 million between 1983 and 1999.^[45][68][69] Launched in February 2001, a joint venture between Nigeria Airways and South African Airways that mostly relied upon the Johannesburg–Lagos–New York route was unilaterally terminated by the South African carrier in March 2002 citing a decline in passenger numbers and a deficit of US$4,900,000.^[70][71]

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