Nigeria’s Xejet adds first aircraft, inks Kanem Air deal

Xejet (Lagos) has taken delivery of its first aircraft, EMB-145LR 5N-BZM (msn 14500842), as it prepares to complete its certification with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) as a scheduled passenger services operator.

RadarBox ADS-B data shows the 16-year-old jet was ferried directly from Johannesburg O.R. Tambo to Lagos on June 30/July 1. Xejet’s chief executive, Emmanuel Iza, told ch-aviation the second E145 – msn 145360, formerly D2-FFW with Angola’s Diexim Expresso Aviaçao (Luanda) – is currently at Lanseria in South Africa and will arrive in West Africa in about four weeks or so. The third aircraft, a sistership to 5N-BZM, is still subject to a finalised contract.

According to a company press release, the aircraft is one of three Embraer jets Xejet will operate on behalf of virtual carrier Kanem Air with which it has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

Under the deal, Kanem Air will offer multiple daily shuttle services from Maiduguri – the largest city in north-eastern Nigeria’s Borno State – to each of Kano, Abuja, and Lagos.

Nigerian company records show Kanem Air Ltd. was incorporated in Lagos in January this year by Ali Gujja, its sole shareholder and managing director. The company’s co-directors include Umar Lawan Sheriff, Maijir Mohammed, and Edeki Mojirade Mistura.

According to the ch-aviation schedules module, Maiduguri is connected to Abuja by Arik Air and Azman Air, which offer 5x and 4x weekly services respectively, and to Lagos by Azman Air (5x weekly).