By Foster Obi
Nigerian carrier, Dana Air, on Sunday celebrated the 11th anniversary of its flight operations by rewarding customers with various gifts ranging from free tickets to souvenirs. The Chief Operating Officer, Mr Obi Mbanuzuo ,while speaking at a brief ceremony in Lagos said that the airline would never have made it this far but for its loyal guests and staff who believed in what the airline stood for and have kept it going, hence the reward and celebration with customers
Obi stressed that Dana Air coming this far as a domestic airline in Nigeria has not been rosy as the airline has suffered among other issues incessant peddling of fake news about its operations, but for the resolve and renewed passion of its staff and loyal customers who have kept faith with the airline, by consistently flying knowing full well that the airline has built a strong safety reputation in the last few years.
“For us 11 years means we are doing the right things and making the right decisions at the right time. We have been methodical, careful and realistic in our steps and we hope to consolidate our existing routes to provide full capacity, seamless travel and options for our guests to travel conveniently yuletide while still reviewing our route expansion plans.
“So many airlines have come and gone maybe due to some incidents in the past or inability to cope with the operating environment but we have been here for 11 years and still counting because of our loyal customers, dedicated staff strength and above all a sound management team with a massive experience in the Nigerian aviation industry running the airline with a model worthy of emulation.
“We thank the Present administration led by His Excellency President Muhammed Buhari, for gradually creating the ambience for airlines to thrive and the efforts so the area of infrastructure is commendable. We hope that these efforts are sustained in the coming years and other areas hampering the growth of airlines reviewed.
“For us, it has been about commitment, promise and fulfillment and we are delighted to have kept the promise we made to our guest last year about fleet expansion and capacity with the recent acquisition of 2 new Boeing 737 aircraft bringing the number of aircraft in our fleet to 9. Our guests should expect more as our commitment and promise has not changed.”
“We have made huge progress and our recent acquisition means more jobs for our Nigerian Pilots and engineers. In keeping steadily to our robust route and fleet expansion program, we would create more job opportunities in addition to the thousands of direct and indirect jobs already created, train more and improve capacity in Nigeria.
“It has also been 11 years of also contributing immensely to the growth of the Nigerian economy and the well-being of Nigerians with our over 9 years partnership with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and project pink Blue, a cancer fighting nongovernmental organization to conduct nationwide awareness about breast / prostate cancer and sponsoring free screening across the country with over 27,000 positively impacted. This is just to mention a few of the humanitarian drives we have carried out across the country recently and in the past.
Pix: L-R Captain Segun Omole, Dana Air Director of Flight Operations, Obi Mbanuzuo, Dana Air Chief Operating Officer, Rodger Whittle, Executive Director, Bicourtney Aviation Services Limited, Emem Ettete, Dana Air Head of Ground Operations during the anniversary celebration at MMA2 recently.
