Nigeria’s Ibom Air, Dana Air eye interline partnership

In a first for the Nigerian domestic market, Ibom Air (QI, Uyo) and Dana Air (9J, Lagos) have reached an agreement on an interline/codeshare agreement starting May 2021, local media report. Ibom Air Chief Operating Officer, George Uriesi, at a quarterly aviation round table meeting, revealed the finalisation of a long process of negotiations, adding: “We are going to launch it by May 2021.” “We are on the last phase of the interline project. By May, we shall launch it. The challenge of it is to have partners who are organised and who meet up with the organisation of your company. Your workforce has to work together, sit together to look at your schedule, and integrate into your reservation system,” reported This Day newspaper. Uriesi did not reveal the routes concerned. According to the ch-aviation schedules module, both Ibom Air and Dana Air serve seven routes to five destinations in Nigeria. The Ibom State-owned airline recently signalled plans to start international flights in the coming months using A220 jets. From its base at Lagos, Dana Air operates up to seven daily frequencies to/from Abuja, 2x daily to Enugu, as well as twice-daily to Owerri and twice-daily to Port Harcourt Omagwa, ch-aviation data reveals. Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director-General Musa Nuhu commended the two airlines on the partnership, which he said would help them maximise profits, eliminate flight delays and cancellations. The NCAA for years has been advocating domestic strategic/commercial partnerships, without much success, reports said.