Nigeria’s Dana Air also considering regional jets for growth

Nigerian domestic carrier, Dana Air (9J, Lagos) could shift to B737NGs and smaller regional jets as it moves into the next stage of its strategic business plan, says Chief Operating Officer Obi Mbanuzuo. He told African Aerospace the airline expected a six-month delay in the implementation of its growth plans on the back of slow traffic recovery following COVID-19 but planned to be operating at pre-COVID-19 levels by December 2020. Going into the crisis, Dana operated interconnecting flights between Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt Omagwa, Owerri, and Uyo. According to ch-aviation PRO airlines module, its fleet consists of one owned MD-82, four owned MD-83s, and two B737-300s leased from Aerolux. He said Dana would look at phasing out its existing aircraft from 2021 on a one-for-one basis with B737NGs. Another option would be to acquire up to four Embraer E-Jets, with all variants in contention. The airline would consider operating the E-Jets either alongside the B737s or as standalone replacements if the offer and financing was right. “We’re probably still going to fly the MDs until they get to their heaviest checks – D checks,” he said. “The earliest will be due in a couple of years. Then we’ll start phasing them out, and the idea is to replace them. By then, the market should have settled down enough for us to be able to get our hands on some reasonable NGs.” On the E-Jet option, he said: “We’ve always wanted to keep one type of aircraft, but now we’ve got two, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with two in future. That could be an idea to get a slightly smaller aircraft.” Dana’s B737-300s entered commercial service in mid-February 2020. The airline has been using them to add frequencies on existing routes. Mbanuzuo said they might ultimately be used to add more destinations within Nigeria, such as Calabar, Enugu, and Kano.