DESPITE the present turbulence in Nigeria’s aviation industry, a new airline, JetWest is set to take-off by December this year.
This news is coming months after there were rumours that the Federal Government has government had perfected plans to convert crisis plagued airline, Arik Air into a national asset.
The speculations look so true because several governments had frantic movies to float a national carrier but each move hit a dead-end. The speculations were also true because of the finanicail support that commercial airlines have enjoyed at the instance of Government generosity while operating in an environment full of unfriendly airport charges and taxes.
The brain behind JetWest is Dikko Nwachukwu, a serial entrepreneur with a background in aviation who in an interview CNN while marshalling his plans for survive in the volatile aviation industry of Nigeria said that “The guiding vision for JetWest is to make air travel accessible for more people. We are about democratizing the skies.”
Very optimistic in nature, the astute businessman said that he sees opportunity in the vast market unserved by existing airlines saying, “We want to do for travel what cell phones did for telecoms. Fifteen years ago there were less than one million phone lines in Nigeria and now there are 100 million.
“We could have 100 million (air) travelers, and I know jetWest will be in the middle of the revolution.”
“We want to do for travel what cell phones did for telecoms,” he says bullishly. “Fifteen years ago there were less than one million phone lines in Nigeria and now there are 100 million…We could have 100 million (air) travelers, and I know jetWest will be in the middle of the revolution.”
He disclosed that JetWest aims to project a fresh and vibrant image stressing that the company’s social media accounts are already trailing colourful cocktails and memes ahead of launch, aimed at youthful, savvy consumers.
“We will cut out everything not core to the business and focus on getting fliers from A to B. Beyond that, we will have unbundled services so customers can pick and choose what they want”, he said.
He also said that JetWest is developing its own proprietary technologies in-house, drawing on the best talent from Nigeria’s renowned start-up scene, in a conscious effort to boost local industry as well to avoid costly rental equipment saying that the company intends to eventually supply technology to other airlines.
By Maureen Akello, East Africa with agency report
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