Ibom Air, owned by the Akwa Ibom government, has announced plans to expand its routes to seven African countries as part of efforts to grow the brand and make it a regional operator.
The airline which has seven aircraft on its fleet said it plans to conquer the African territory in 2023.
Aniekan Essien-Ette, group manager, marketing and communication who made this known in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital while interacting with journalists said the African countries include Senegal, Liberia and Ghana. Others according to her are Sierra Leone, Gabon and Gambia.
Essien-Ette said the commencement of flights to the African countries would depend on the airline’s capacity after the arrival of two new aircraft later this year.
“The plan for 2023, we plan to open international routes, going step by step. When we finish the local flights, we will turn to international routes. It is a world class operator as an African regional airline,’’ she said.
She said the company has ordered ten new airbus adding that due to the crunch in the global supply chain, it has not been possible for the aircraft to arrive but explained that between 2023 and 2025, the airline would take delivery of 10 new airbus to boost its fleet.
“We started with three aircraft, later we had two.Later we went ahead to place an order for 10 aircraft. For a stop-gap purpose, EgyptAir had airbuses that they did not use. They gave two for us on a wet lease agreement.”
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She denied reports that the airline had deliberately excluded other operators from the Victor Attah International Airport in Uyo, saying Ibom Air does not have such powers while maintaining that airline operations are guided by the forces of demand and supply.
“We can’t allocate such authority to us, it was based on forces of the market, there is no way any airline has the power to stop another airline from operating at Ibom airport. Competition is good for us, it keeps us on our toes, it helps us to know how we are doing,’’
She said the airline would go for another scheduled inspection of an airbus next month in readiness for the arrival of the two aircraft in December this year.
“We are focused on maintaining the brand, we work 24 hours a day, we keep our eyes constantly on the ball, we are passionate about the dream handed down to us, and we will protect it, though in working with machines, we do have snags once in a while.”
