The management of Ibom Air has noted that its two newly acquired Airbus A220 aircraft will hit the skies from June 30. This is as the airline also disclosed that it is currently negotiating with Airbus to procure a fleet of brand new A220s for deliveries commencing 4th quarter 2022.
With the introduction of the aircraft, the airline is able to bring the much needed capacity, more comfort, enhanced safety and increased reliability to air travel in Nigeria.
Both new leased aircraft are the result of the Airline’s decision to fast track its fleet development plan in order to respond to a surge in passenger numbers, which stretched the capacity of its CRJ900 fleet to the maximum. With the arrival of both leased jets, the airline is now able to provide the much-needed capacity sought by its fast-increasing clientele.
In the words of the airline’s Group Manager, Marketing, Aniekan Essienette, “Ibom Air’s passengers on the Lagos-Abuja route can now experience three flights each way daily, in the comfort of the A220. The A220 will also serve the Uyo to Lagos and Uyo to Abuja routes, while the airline’s fleet of five CRJ900s fill up any gaps, providing adequate capacity on all the other routes”.
While expressing his pleasure at this development, Ibom Air COO, Mr. George Uriesi noted that there was a need to adjust its business strategy and fast track the move to higher capacity aircraft. “With the introduction of the A220, this capacity squeeze will be adequately addressed”, he said.
Ibom Air chose to bridge the urgent capacity gap by wet-leasing these 2 new jets from Egypt air as a stop-gap measure.
