Aerocontractors Expands its Fleet: Acquires two 737-400

AeroContractors, has acquired two additional Boeing 737-400 aircraft, bringing the company's total fleet to 12. Capt. Akin George Managing Director of the Airline, as said "the additional aircraft would allow the airline to introduce new routes and also transport more passengers during the forthcoming holiday season."  It will also further consolidate Aero’s leading position both in the domestic and regional market, making it one of the fastest growing airlines in West Africa by aircraft usage.
Aero contractors is an airline that is known to adheres strictly to the maintenance schedule for its aircrafts. Aero said the newly-acquired B737-400, 144-seater aircraft are equipped with the latest navigation equipment with lower fuel burn and increased reliability, making the aircraft more efficient, environmentally friendly and easier to maintain. Since 2000 when the airline commenced scheduled commercial operation, it has grown from a service provider to oil industry operators to a leading regional schedule carrier operator.

The airline operates passenger services with the Bombardier Dash8, Q300 aircraft and the Boeing 737-400 and 500 variants with 104 to 144 seats.

Air Nigeria's AOC Expires

Air Nigeria's Airline Operator’s Certificate (AOC) expired on Thursday last week, which means if they still intend to come back twelve months later as Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim says, they would have to go through fresh re-certification. Some think airline business is a joke ba.

Ethiad Airways Begins Cargo Flights to Lagos, Nigeria

The Cargo division of Etihad Airways (EY), will re-introduce a weekly freighter service from Abu Dhabi to Lagos. Nigeria, starting November 15. This service will be complemented by the addition of 16 new interline destinations across West Africa.

These additional interline connections will link Lagos with the cities of Libreville (Gabon), Pointe-Noire (Congo-Brazzaville), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Douala (Cameroon), Accra (Ghana), Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire), Nouakchott (Mauritania), Conakry (Guinea), Bamako (Mali), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Cotonou (Benin), Monrovia (Liberia), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Port Harcourt (Nigeria) and Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo).

The Abu Dhabi-Lagos freighter service will operate every Thursday using a Boeing 747-400F freighter, with a capacity of 124 tonnes. Etihad Airways already operates six weekly Airbus A330 passenger services between the two cities, providing additional belly cargo space.

Kevin Knight, Etihad Airways’ Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, said:

“West Africa is a hugely important market for us, and we are delighted to offer freighter services to and beyond one of its gateway cities – Lagos.

“The 16 new interline destinations, with connections over Lagos, will ensure Etihad Cargo has leading logistics solutions for cargo customers into and out of the region.

“Via Lagos, these new destinations will also help cement the ever expanding trade ties between West Africa and the UAE.”

Etihad Cargo’s existing African freighter destinations include: Johannesburg, Nairobi, Khartoum, Benghazi, Tripoli, Cairo, Casablanca, Addis Ababa and Eldoret.

Etihad Cargo flies to a total of 86 destinations internationally, operating a fleet of six freighters, consisting of one Airbus A300-600F, two Airbus A330-200F, one McDonnell Douglas MD-11F, one Boeing B777F and one Boeing 747-400F leased from Atlas Air.

Emirates A380 Blows an Engine Just After Take-off

I'm beginning to loose confidence in this A380 monster Jumbo.
There was a reported engine failure again on an Airbus A380, but this time on an Emirates Airbus A380 flight EK413 from Sydney Australia to Dubai on Sunday. The last reported case was on the 4th Nov, 2010 a Qantas Flight QF32 a.k.a (Nancy Bird Walton) from Singapore to Australia engine 2 blow out its cowlings just 5mins after take off. The experienced flight crew guided the plane back safely to the airport
 Meanwhile, passengers on-board the A380 plane bound for Dubai have told of how the engine exploded shortly after take-off forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.
Flyers described seeing flashes of light from the engine and hearing a loud bang. The aircraft turned back to Sydney 20 minutes after take-off. (honestly that's exactly the same testimony given by the passengers of Qantas QF32 in 2010.)
Passenger John Fothergill of Auckland said he saw a flash.
"I thought it could have been lightning but then we saw flames come out of the engine. The whole interior of the A380 lit up," he told News Limited.
"You'd have to say there were two or three metre flames. (The) explosion shook the plane, there was a bigger judder."
Meanwhile passenger Ross Clarke told the Seven Network of Australia: "We were told by the pilot that something had gone wrong on the starboard engine, number three engine." 
These two airlines are noted for their impeccable safety records. Although the last engine failure was a manufacturing error made by Rolls Royce on their RRtrent1000 engines, there are no reports yet on what caused Emirates EK412 No. 3 engine's failure

Med-View chooses MMA2 as operational base

Med-View Airlines, over the weekend, said it chose the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Lagos, as its operational home base because of its efficient facilities.

Managing Director of Med-View Airlines, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, told the management team of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of MMA2, that they had a tough time choosing an operational base because they were given different options, but at the end settled for MMA2

According to him,

 “having paid several visits to the terminal to see all the facilities on ground, my management team concluded that it is only MMA2 that can offer the kind of high quality services we need. We are thrilled by the clean and organised environment that you people have turned the terminal into.

 He said the passengers expected to patronise their services can only be accommodated at MMA2. That is why they have the biggest office by any airline at the terminal. Is not by big office oh, is it safe. Well he promised not to disappoint Nigerians

Replying, the Chief Executive Officer of BASL, Christophe Penninck, assured the airline that MMA2 was prepared to render the best services to Med-View, as well as any other airline that may want to operate from the terminal.

Penninck also promised to sustain the clean environment of the terminal and the facilities “so that it would always be the centre of attraction to Nigerians and foreigners alike”.

Present at the ceremony were the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Osuolale Akiolu, Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, Managing Director of the Skypower Aviation Handling company (SAHCOL), Mr Olu Owolabi, Chief Operating Officer of BASL, Ms. Adebisi Awoniyi and security chiefs, among several others.

Fellow pilots and engineers opportunity for recruitment!

Nigerian Domestic Airlines To Install Tracking Device

All aircraft operated by our domestic airlines in Nigeria are to be fitted with Automated Flight Information Reporting System, as part of efforts to ensure air safety in the country. Well according to the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren.
'The new device will record everything that happens to an aircraft during flight. If there is engine failure, it will record it; if there is excessive temperature, it will record it. If there is excessive vibration, it will record it, in summary it records the smallest amount of detail on any airline fitted with this device.
If for example a Yashim Airline plane (not bad for an airline name by the way. *wink*) in New york is about to take off and there is an oil temperature irregularity in the planes' engine it would show at the NCAA flight ops systems in Nigeria, Cool Right!
“All airlines will be required to fix this on board their aircraft. The control centre will be at the NCAA, where we will be seeing everything. This is a good development in our airspace.
Dr. Demuren said the NCAA will make the installation of the new device in aircraft a compulsory for all domestic airlines, adding that it would be included in carriers’ minimum equipment list.Dr. Demuren said the new device would serve as a backup in the event of loss of data contained in aircraft’s black boxes.The loss of data contained in the black box of the airplane operated by Nigeria's domestic Dana Air, which crashed on the outskirts of Lagos 3 June 2012, killing 159 people, adversely affected investigation into the cause of the crash.

Ethiad and Emirates will soon fly Kano Routes

A recent report was given by FAAN with respect to some Airline flying to Kano wahala! Here is a statement made by Mr Yakabu Dati a senior official at FAAN...

The General Manager (Corporate Communications) of the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. Yakubu Dati said contrary to reports that the Aviation Minister, Mrs Stella Oduah, was working against the economy of Kano State, the ministry has signed agreements with two airlines to fly the route. Excerpts:
There's this allegation that FAAN and the minister of Aviation are preventing airlines from flying Kano route. Why is it so?
I would like to say that the aviation industry is controlled by many factors. It is the airlines that determine where they go, based on security and other factors they may want to consider. As for the allegations made from Kano, it is totally unsubstantiated.
The airlines, Etihad and Emirates had already secured permission through the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). It gives them the power to operate from Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt as they so wish. But for now, they are only operating from Abuja and Lagos.
We've been making efforts to ensure they expand their operations. With the current remodelling of airports round the country, it is to the advantage of the ministry to have them fly and use these airports. We want to make the airports economic hubs.
The allegation is not true.
Rather, the minister has been persuading these organisations to fly these routes. When you have BASA agreement, which is protected by international convention, there's no minister that can stop any airline from landing.
Those rights have been given and protected under the BASA agreement. Ethiopian Airways, Emirates have landing rights into Lagos and Abuja. They've started operations. They are yet to commence their cargo operations in Kano. One of the first airports that the mission commissioned was the Kano Hajj Terminal. The Sultan of Sokoto was there to commission it and expressed satisfaction with the work done. Also, the Kaduna Hajj terminal has been completed; the Abuja Hajj terminal is already done. Of the 11 airports being remodelled, six are situated in the North. This has shown a clear commitment and determination to open up a space for economic development in the North.