Managing Director, ValueJet, Capt Dapo Majekodunmi says, the major issue regarding codeshare in Nigeria is how to process the clearing house.
This is just as he said, it is workable if the agreement is fine-tuned to see where the grey areas might be.
In an interview, Capt. Majekodunmi said, there is a template that can be looked at like Air France-KLM.
“We think code sharing is better with the proper understanding. Once we can have the platform, the airline can work with it”.
He stated that, if his airline decides to go International, it would prefer to codeshare with others African airlines to get better coverage of the world, adding that, their operations would not be to target Accra alone but to connect its passengers to the rest of the outside world Europe and America. “North Africa flights can be a good codeshare into Europe”.
“There are a lot of places on the West Coast with great potential. We don’t all have to fly to Ghana. You are starting to see overcapacity in that area. There are too many airlines there. We need to look at Africa to see how we can connect with the rest of the world”
On ValueJet planned cargo operations, Capt. Majekodunnmi explained that, their cargo operation will be an all-cargo operation with cargo airplanes and will be available for cargo consolidators, courier services, and logistics companies for better and faster movement of goods.
“The potentials are big while looking to give service to the postal services, and online stores to better improve their delivery. We are also very open to the West Coast cargo operation”.On the choice of the CRJ aircraft for their operations, the ValueJet MD said, “Fuel efficiency is one of the key reasons; comfort and technology are behind it. The CRJ aircraft technology is friendly to the pilots. Most airlines fly the common B737″.
“They all thought they were doing the right thing when the aviation gas Jet A1 was selling for as low as N100 per liter compared to today’s N800 per litre. Secondly, the flight trips around Nigeria are all in the region of a one-hour flight. The regional flights are in the region of three hours. With the CRJ’s excellent fuel consumption of five hours + endurance with full tanks with the capability of 90 passengers, that’s the magic aircraft for this region. At the time they were using it, fuel was not as expensive as it is now. Steel and fuel were cheap in America at the time. American cars were known to be very big and poor on fuel. Today, the American market is all after fuel-efficient European cars”.
“The Americans now know that it is either they make their cars more aerodynamic or their customers will settle for European cars. We have studied a situation whereby we maintain good safety, make some money and most importantly, let the passengers enjoy the quality of a streamlined aircraft; that was the birth of the CRJ 900 for ValueJet. The seat numbers are not that much, but 90 seats are just enough to serve over popular routes like Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Asaba, and Benin. Jos will also be joining by the first week of February 2023. Jos people have long awaited our service”.
