The Management of Aero Contractors has said it will resume commercial services as soon as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) completes its audit process.
The airline said it has written NCAA of its intention to resume operation, adding that the audit process is ongoing.
The airline said it is hopeful that the audit process would be completed by the end of this month so that it can commence its service by October.
In July, the airline announced a temporary suspension of its flight operation due to the depletion of aircraft to run scheduled commercial services.
However, as part of measures to resume, the airline said it has signed a partnership agreement with the Chairman of Umza Aviation Services, Hon. Mohammed Abubakar.
Almost $50 million is said to be invested in the purchase of five aircraft that will be operated by Aero contractors.
With the five aircraft, Aero Contractors will have nine aircraft to resume its commercial operation.
peaking at the Nnamdi Azikwe International airport, Abuja after taking delivery of the second Dash-8 (Q-400) aircraft, the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Capt. Abdullahi Mahmoud affirmed the readiness of the airline to resume.
Mahmoud, who was represented by Head of Security, Adah Daniel said: “Commercial-wise, we are looking at end of the month because we wrote to the NCAA that we want to start operation and we have to finish with the ongoing audit process.
“So, once we are through with the NCAA audit process and we are cleared, we will commence immediately. It could be earlier and it could be early next month but it depends on the audit, however, we are confident that the audit will end this month because we have already started.
“So, they will be coming in to do the final paperwork and once that is done, we are good to go.”
On the capacity of the aircraft, he said: “It is a 75-seater aircraft. It is also one of the safest aircraft because you hardly hear of crashes, it has short landing and short takeoff, so it is very good even during emergencies. Nigerians should expect efficient, prompt and reliable service. The aircraft is very dependable, it has fuel efficiency and its capacity is 75.
“So with this, we hope to meet aviation demand in terms of passengers and also cost because we have noticed that cost is a concern for a lot of travelling passengers.
“So, we believe when we operate a fuel-efficient aircraft, we will be able to fly passengers with a reasonable fare.”
“Once you have more aircraft, it gives the passengers leverage for a lower fare but once you have a few aircraft with so much demand, then the price will go up”.
On when the remaining aircraft will be delivered, he said: “For now, it is still in process and the problem is the projections. Sometimes you might project in two weeks but because of one or two delays, it might extend but we hope that before next month, we should be able to have all five deliveries but with these two, we can kick start with the other ones we have in our Lagos office. We have about four, so I think with six aircraft, we should be able to commence operation”
On how much was invested, the Chairman, Umza Aviation Services, Hon. Mohammed Abubakar said: “It is a lot of money. Almost $50 million was invested in the purchase of the five aircraft. The aircraft are not on lease, it is an outright purchase. None of them is on lease.
“This is a risk worth taking. In a couple of weeks, we will start operating based on our agreement with Aero while we are processing our AOC.”
Former MD and member of Technical Board of Aero Contractors, Capt. Ado Sanusi called for more investment in the aviation sector.
Asides from the cost of aviation fuel, he said inadequate aircraft is responsible for the high cost of tickets.
He said: “Nigerian aviation needs more aircraft to grow. The last we saw is that we need at least 30-35 aircraft flying daily in the entire airspace to make sure that all passenger’s needs are met and the tickets are not expensive.
“It is important to connect most of the state capitals to Abuja and the economic capital Lagos and to the oil and gas capital, Port Harcourt to connect them to other state capitals.
So, I think the second coming of this aircraft shows that there is room for investment and I believe investors will key to what Umza has done to invest in the aviation industry to make it grow.
On how to drive down the cost of tickets, he said: “The cost of tickets is a factor of so many things but the major one is the cost of JetA1. Another thing that will drive down the cost is the availability of the seats available to fly. If we have a lot of seats available, then the tickets will come down.
“Also, if the aircraft you are using does not consume too much of the Jet A1, then you can drive down the cost which is why the choice of Dash-8 Q400 is a good one.
“Any aircraft that does not consume too much fuel and will deliver the same product to the passengers will be a welcome development to investors because it will consume less fuel and you can afford to sell your ticket a bit less because you are consuming less fuel”.
