Dana Air, one of Nigeria’s foremost domestic airlines has assured that its complete fleet renewal plan is still on course. In an interview with BusinessDay, Obi Mbanuzuo, the accountable manager, Dana Air said before the lockdown, the big thing was to do a complete fleet renewal as the 737s the airline acquired were just a stop-gap, adding this plan is still on course but was delayed as a result of the pandemic.
“We were looking at a complete fleet renewal but the pandemic, which has affected market dynamics, has meant that we put some things on hold. For now, we are trying to conserve cash, and keep giving customers’ confidence so as to increase capacity and patronage.
“We need an average of 65 percent load factor to break even. The more we keep giving people confidence to come and fly, the more we are able to break even. By next year, we should see some major improvements. We are just trying to be consistent, conserve cash and stay alive,” Mbanuzuo said.
He said the airline has continued to comply strictly with the COVID-19 protocol set out by the federal government.
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“Even before the COVID era, we had quality control. So long as we have that quality control that is working, we just know that everything will fall in place. The regulator, in conjunction with port health and the airlines have put in procedures for protection of passengers. We have taken those procedures and we have incorporated them into our procedures.
“We have quality control that makes sure that the procedure is done every day and every time irrespective of who is watching or who is not watching. For instance, there is a rule that says on a row of three passengers, the middle passenger should have a face shield and that face shield will be provided by the airline.
“Initially we were the only airline doing that. We have quality control for how we operate, so once we put that COVID-19 procedure into our normal operations, it will always be there,” the Dana boss explained.
Speaking on policies the government needs to put in place to help grow the aviation sector, Mbanuzuo said the problem is that the government has been very bureaucratic and needs to make things easier.
He said that the airline is a business and having to go through several processes to get things done shouldn’t be so.
“For instance, when we want to import our aircraft we have to go through many processes just to import an aircraft. Apart from palliatives, we need to implement the ease of doing business we hear every day. Passengers have had to feel several forms when they travel. We need to get them done easily. They need to work on visa processes for foreigners coming in. There are better ways to work out things and make them easier,” he explained.
He hinted the high dollar exchange rate has also impacted the airline business.
“The naira was about N360 to a dollar before lockdown, but now it is about N450 to a dollar. Our tickets are sold in naira but the spare parts, the leased airplanes, the insurance and many more are paid in foreign currency. We don’t have access to foreign exchange at the official rate. When we get foreign exchange, there is limitation on how much can be paid on a daily basis,” he added.
