When it commenced flights services to Nigeria ten years ago, Emirates, a global connector of people and places never imagined that the Dubai-Lagos route would be a gold mine; one that would bring a huge return on investment so fast, increasing its seven weekly frequencies to almost 14 every week. That is the story of Emirates Airlines, one of the biggest carriers in the world.
Further testament to the growing importance of Nigeria as a key Emirates market, Emirates Holidays, the tour-operating arm of Emirates, last month opened a dedicated retail office and call centre in Lagos in partnership with Tour Brokers International (TBI) Ltd, who was appointed Preferred Sales Agency (PSA) for Nigeria.
The carrier disclosed that it would celebrate ten years of successful operations in Nigeria this month, during which time it has carried more than 2.6 million customers on the route, becoming the airline of choice for many in the country.
Emirates started operations to Nigeria on January 2, 2004, with four flights per week from Dubai to Lagos linked with Accra in Ghana, using an A330-200 aircraft. Lagos became Emirates 73rddestination in its network and its 10th in Africa. Today, Emirates flies to over 140 destinations across six continents, 25 of which are in Africa.In 2005, just over a year after Emirates’ launch in Nigeria, it increased services from four to six flights a week, and following steady growth and demand, it became a daily operation in October 2005.
On January 1, 2006, Lagos was delinked from Accra and became a direct service to Dubai. On February 1, 2009, a second daily service was introduced and today each flight is served with a Boeing 777-3000ER. The Boeing 777-300ER is the backbone of the Emirates fleet, efficient to operate and popular amongst customers.
“Emirates is all about connecting people and place
“The arrival of Emirates was a big boost for the local travel industry, as it opened up new links and opportunities for business and leisure travel. Dubai in itself has also become a very popular destination for Nigerians over the year and today we are a key market for the airline in the Africa region,” said George Ikpekhia, the Airport Station manager at Emirates office in Lagos, who has been with the airline since the start of operations. Emirates currently employ 83 Nigerian nationals across its business in Nigeria and Dubai.
Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of the airline, also played a key role over the past ten years in facilitating trade between Nigeria and its trading partners in the Emirates network.
In 2013 alone, more than 12 000 tonnes of cargo, ranging from household goods to pharmaceuticals and construction equipment, was imported into Nigeria using Emirates SkyCargo services.
Passengers on-board Emirates flights can experience the airlines award-winning service by its multi-national cabin crew, ice entertainment system with 1500 channels of on-demand entertainment and gourmet cuisine. Emirates also offers passengers very generous baggage allowances of 50kg in first class, 40kg in business class, and 30kg in economy class.
Written by By Wole Shadare
Written by By Wole Shadare
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