In honour of its 15 years of successful operations in Nigeria, Dubai based Emirates Airline will start operating flights to Abuja beginning from the 1st of June, 2019.
According to Emirate‘s Regional Manager for West Africa, Afzal Parambil, who disclosed this at a press conference in Lagos, the daily flights to Abuja will replace the airline’s current flight operation schedule.
Emirates’s Relationship with Nigeria: He further stated that the airline has contributed to the Nigerian economy by creating job opportunities for about 150 people in the country.
“Emirates has enjoyed a strong relationship with Nigeria, and remains deeply committed to the market. Over the past 15 years, we have not only seen our operations grow, but our product develop to cater to the taste and requirements of our Nigerian customers. We constantly strive to provide our passengers with an unforgettable travel experience, and our growth is a testament to the fact that we are on the right track.
“In response to growing demand, Emirates launched services to Abuja in 2014, 10 years after its inaugural flight to Nigeria. Emirates now operates a double daily service to Lagos with the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which offers eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class.”
Past challenges: Two years after it launched its services to Abuja, the airline started facing foreign exchange problem, low patronage, and some other operational issues. This caused it to suspend its Abuja-Dubai flight operations.
Despite the setback it had, the airline still progressed and racked up enough profits, as people continued to patronise them. Highlights from the company’s 2017-2018 annual reports showed that the company made a profit of about US$1.1 billion [4.1 billion United Arab Emirates Dirham] AED for the financial year ended 31 March 2018.
About Emirates Airline: Emirates was founded in 1985, by the royal family of Dubai. The airline’s first flight was from Dubai to Karachi, Pakistan, in October of that year. Its first aircraft stock came in the form of a pair of Boeing 727-200s provided by the Dubai Royal Air Wing.
