Ihedioha silent on Dana Air deal with Imo as first Boeing 737 aircraft lands
More than 100 days after being sworn in as Imo State Governor, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha has maintained silence on the purported air partnership with Dana Air brokered by the former governor, Mr Rochas Okorocha.
This is as the carrier has given its strategic route expansion plan a push with the arrival in Lagos of one of its newly acquired Boeing 737 aircraft.
According to the Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of Dana Air, Mr Jacky Hathiramani the aircraft arrived Lagos at about 1am on Friday last week.
Jacky said the arrival of the first Boeing 737 aircraft was part of its promise to its guests earlier in the year that the airline will acquire some Boeing 737 aircraft to increase its capacity and meet the ever increasing demands of its guests.
Still on the Imo Dana Air deal, recall that former Governor Okorocha, now a senator had sealed an air partnership agreement wherein some air craft belonging to Dana is christened Imo Air and serve as official airline of the state. Though the former governor had assured that before the end of his tenure, the Dana Imo Air fleet would rise to 10, there is nothing on ground as at the end of the tenure on May 29, 2019 to show the survival or reality of the assurance.
However, further investigations showed that current governor of the State may have dumped the air partnership as he has not called for the state of the deal nor showed cause for the partnership.
Giving insights on the Boeing 737 aircraft arrival, Jacky said the arrival was part of its promise to its guests earlier in the year that the airline will acquire some Boeing 737 aircraft to increase its capacity and meet the ever increasing demands of its guests.
He said Dana Air is committed to its strategic route expansion and fleet renewal plan, and its desire to continue to provide unmatched on-time performance, world-class in-flight services and seamless air travel to its teeming guests.
“Earlier in the year, we noticed that there were fewer aircraft in the country and less capacity to meet the demand at the time, so we decided to assure our guests that we will acquire some Boeing 737 aircraft to ensure that they travel at ease without having to worry if they will get flights to certain destinations even at peak periods. ”
“The arrival of the first of our recently acquired 737 aircraft is a firm confirmation of our resilience, operational efficiency, deep passion, and our commitment to continue flying safe.”
“It also underscores our mission which to earn the loyalty and respect of our customers by consistently demonstrating our commitment to service, and providing affordable regional air transport services that focus on innovation, quality and service excellence.”
Continuing, he said “With our fleet size likely to hit nine soon, we are ready to give more Nigerian pilots and engineers the opportunity to be gainfully employed. We would also deploy this B737 to strengthen our existing route network while new routes will be announced soon.’’
Having flown over 4.5 million passengers in the last 11 years of its operations, Dana Air one of Nigeria’s leading airlines with daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Owerri.
The airline is reputed for its unrivaled on-time performance, world-class customer/ in-flight service and innovative online products and services.
