FG cautioned on new national carrier plans

Experts in the Nigerian aviation industry have cautioned the Federal Government on its plans to float a new national carrier this year.

Though Hadi Sirika, Minister of State on Aviation has promised that the national carrier will be private sector-led and driven, it was  expected that there should have been a clear direction by now on how government intends to run the national carrier and airlines it intends to partner, said the experts.

A national carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline that, being locally registered in a given state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations.

“I have no clue on who the government is partnering with and how they want to do it. All I know is that the government says the carrier will be private sector-driven and government will have very minimal participation of about three percent,”Ikechi Uko, said an aviation expert and Nigerian travel business consultant.

Uko said there is a need for a national carrier but it should be in partnership with some of the local carriers already in existence, so that they can learn from their experiences, adding that the process should transparent.

“I think we should take into consideration, the already existing domestic airlines. The national carrier will help pull the resources of the domestic airlines, especially now that they are struggling with depleting fleets.”

Dele Ore, President of Aviation Round Table and a former pilot with the defunct Nigeria Airways, told BusinessDay that before a new national carrier is set up, there is a need to find out what went wrong with Nigeria Airways, so we do not fall into the same problem.

According to Ore, “When you say national carrier, it means they are ready to kill all the other carriers who are already in existence before them. The government has interest in it, and the carrier has priority over others in which case, they want to make it a dominant carrier.”

Ore further stated that it is important that government carries out a feasibility study to know the kind of aircraft to float for the carrier and let people know if they will be given exclusive routes to ply, like they did to Virgin Nigeria for five years.

  He said if that is the case, it will inconvenience domestic airlines which have put their hard earned money into the business, and this may put them out of business.

“So, we must first look at the policies, they should not be biased and they should not show that the national carrier is preferred over the others who have been struggling. They should first address the issue of Maintenance Repair Overhaul, or else the national carrier will also have the same problem of having to fly the aircraft for major checks where the foreign exchange is scarce,” he said.

But Tayo Ojuri, an industry expert and Chief Executive Officer, Aglo Limited, an aviation support service, said it is only natural that government favours the national carrier over other airlines but even if they do not, passengers are looking for on time departure and service delivery. If they are not getting that, they will not fly.

“If government says the national carrier will kick-off this year, who are the technical partners and what incentives they will be given?”

“I do not think we need a national carrier, what we should take advantage of is a flag carrier. Three major airlines doing well can be put together and play on the game of numbers.”

“They can play on experience and capacity outreach to make more money. People rely on the old reliable airlines, rather than new ones. I also do not think we have the manpower to manage a national carrier,” Ojuri added.

However, a source close to the sector said he is not aware of government’s plans and strategies to adopt in setting up a national carrier but the idea was a good one, given the size of the nation, its huge population and the mobility of Nigerians, there are sufficient grounds to argue for a national carrier.

The source noted that at present, the country loses so much money to foreign airliners because there is no national carrier with adequate network of routes or the capacity to operate extensively on many of the highly lucrative routes.

He explained that for a national carrier to be effective, government must learn from mistakes made by the defunct Nigeria Airways, some of which include mismanagement, corruption and lack of transparency.

He recalled that at its peak, the then national carrier, Nigeria Airways, had over 30 aircraft. But by the time it was eventually liquidated in 2003 by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, it had barely two aircraft, it had become a huge liability, an object of national shame and international ridicule. Some of the aircraft were seized abroad at will because of indebtedness and salaries were hardly paid.

IFEOMA OKEKE