Another airline announces acquisition of more aircrafts

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United Nigeria Airlines is set to boost its fleet with six new Embraer Aircraft
The first registered aircraft landed at Lagos's Murtala Muhammed International Airport on October 31, 2024
The airline expects two additional aircraft in the first quarter and two more in the second quarter of 2025

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Six new Embraer Aircraft (E190s) will be added to United Nigeria Airlines' fleet; the first aircraft arrived last weekend.

On October 31, 2024, the first registered aircraft, SX-PTM, touched down at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, where it was examined by Professor Obiora Okonkwo, the chairman of the business.

Although the second aircraft is anticipated soon, the airline anticipates two more in the first quarter and two more in the second quarter of 2025.

Additionally, in order to facilitate fleet expansion and maintenance, the airline signed a joint venture agreement with Cronos Aviation to build a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Nigeria.

The chairman also inked a new agreement with Cronos for codeshare and inter-line cooperation.

During the signing of the Memorandums of Understanding at the airline's corporate office in Ikeja, Lagos, Okonkwo said that since Cronos Aviation is already operating in various areas of West Africa, the codesharing will allow United Nigeria to extend its operations in the region.

“Interline and Codeshare Agreement will help us to integrate services and provide strong regional operations and also help in commercial activities. Interline will help us in the fifth freedom that is going on the aviation eco-system in Nigeria,” he said.

About the MRO, Daily Trust reported that he clarified that Cronos already has an MRO at O.R. Tambo International Airport in South Africa, which has been in operation for more than 13 years.

He said,

“We have a plan to have about six aircraft in that category of E190 between now and the second quarter of next year. Hopefully, we will have the second one shortly. The first quarter we are going to have two. And then in the second quarter of next year, we are going to have additional two.“For us, it is a new fleet. We have to develop the capacity, both the cabin crew, cockpit crew and the ground engineering crew. This is also part of the partnership that we have signed.”

Okonkwo said that the MRO's creation would save the nation a significant sum of money that would otherwise be spent on comparable services overseas.

“We have no doubt that with this, we will not only be saving the cost of operations for United Nigeria, we should as well be offering services to other operators who might need them. That will also help the nation to save our scarce foreign exchange and open a new door for participation in aviation because other countries will also visit us to enjoy or benefit from our services.“Sometimes, we complain about delays and that has to do with AOG. When AOG comes, safety, high technical standards are a watchword of Nigerian operations,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer, Marathon Airlines, Andeas Kaiafas, stated that Cronos Aviation is partnering with the airline due to the confidence it has in its operation.