United Nigeria Airline Boss laments high cost of fuel
Dr Obiora Okonkwo, the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, has decried the skyrocketed price of Jet, saying the recent rise in the price of the product was negatively affecting operations of the airlines. Okonkwo also said that the airline, which debuted about two months ago opted for Embraer brands of aircraft because of its fuel-efficiency and utilisaiton.
Speaking with aviation correspondents at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos on Wednesday, Okonkwo noted that when the airline commenced flight operations barely two months ago, it was buying the product at N160 per litre, but decried that it is over N270 at the moment.
He explained that the recent hike in the price of aviation fuel was responsible for rise in air tickets and called on the Federal Government to intervene in the situation in order for the operators to remain in business. He said: “We started operations at N160 per litre barely two months ago and when you move from that price to over N270 within two months, you should expect whatever we are experiencing now. As you all know, aviation fuel alone takes between 30 to 40 per cent of airlines’ costs. This is a grave concern to everyone and I don’t know why it is so high.”
Daily Independent had on Wednesday published exclusively the abrupt rise in the price of Jet A1 from N220 per litre two weeks ago to N275. Stakeholders in the sector had stated that domestic air travellers may be compelled to pay more for air tickets as the product reaches the unprecedented heights in the country.
Okonkwo who was flanked by his management team, also explained why the airline opted for Embraer brands of aircraft.
According to him, the airline, its fuel-efficiency and utilisation encouraged the airline to acquire the aircraft brand. United Nigeria had commenced operations with four Embraer aircraft. Besides, he also disclosed that the airline was negotiating an additional two Embraer ERJ145 aircraft to increase its fleet size, stressing that the airline hoped to consolidate on its domestic routes before expanding to regional and international routes.
Oknokwo pointed out that as part of the long term plans of the airline, it hoped to acquire bigger aircraft for its international operations, stressing that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had been happy so far with its performance and level of professionalism. “We hope to increase our fleet of aircraft from the current four soon. We hope to consolidate on some routes and passenger load factor. NCAA so far has been happy with what we are doing. We have been very thorough with our maintenance.
“The ERJ 145 is a good fuel-efficient aircraft and we are negotiating an additional two Embraer aircraft, which we intend to use consolidate on our entire routes. As you know after we do that, we go for a bigger aircraft.” He also spoke about the plan by the airline to set up its own Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) facility in Enugu State, saying that the airline has contacted the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria for this.
