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Chinelo Obogo
One of Nigeria’s major domestic airlines, Dana Air, has expanded its fleet with the arrival of the airline’s fully-owned 737-300 aircraft.
The airline took delivery of the 737-300, the first of two aircraft slated to arrive in the coming weeks with registration number 5N-DNA and a configuration of 143 passengers. The new aircraft arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) from Italy today (September 13).
Chief Operating Officer (COO), Obi Mbanuzor, revealed that with the arrival of the new aircraft 5N-DNA and the coming of a second 5N-DNB in a couple of weeks, the airline would own nine aircraft before the end of the year and its route expansion will commence.
Mbanuzor said the airline also has plans to systematically phase out its existing aircraft, the McDonnel Douglas (MD083) but explained that the phase out would not be automatic as it was still useful for the Nigerian market.
“Currently, the Boeing aircraft is the most popular passenger aircraft in Nigeria. Dana Air went through a long road in this and we have had it as a plan for a long time but it was staggered due to economic realities as the case was but now, here we are.
“There are plans in place to phase out the MD-83 and those plans are being re-evaluated. As you know, some airlines fly 747 due to their particular needs while others are phasing that aircraft out. For us, the MDs have been very good. We won’t give you a date for the phase out now, but we are still flying both aircraft type.
“Dana Air is slow and steady and methodological; we don’t open routes just like that but we take our time and on the recommencement of our West Coast routes, we have that as a plan maybe from 2020 upwards but for now we are concentrating on serving Nigeria routes,” Mbanuzor said.
