Abdou M. Gorge’s 40-employee Transniger Aviation, S. A. is reformed and renamed in 1994. Scheduled passenger and cargo services are continued over domestic and regional routes, employing a fleet of 1 each Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander, Fokker F.27 Friendship, Pipaer PA-23 Aztec, and 2 Cessna 185s.
NIGERIA AIRWAYS, LTD.: P. O. Box 1024, Airways House, Mur-tata Muhammed Airport, Ileja, Lagos, Nigeria; Phone 234 (1) 900810; Fax 234 (1) 961574; Code WT; Year Founded 1958. Early in 1958, preparations are made to split West African Airways Corporation (WAAC) into two parts to satisfy the needs of the colony and Ghana, the former Gold Coast that had gained its independence on March 6, 1957. In June, that part of the carrier not separated as Ghana Airways, Ltd. is renamed West African Airways Corporation (Nigeria), Ltd.
When WAAC ceases to exist in its old form on September 30, the trading name Nigeria Airways, Ltd. is applied to WAAC (Nigeria) and ownership is divided between the Nigerian government (51%), Elder-Dempster Lines, Ltd. (32 2/3%) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) (16 1/3%).
A 15-year agreement is reached with the British flag carrier under which BOAC will charter aircraft to the African carrier and revenues earned on the Nigeria-U. K. route will be pooled. A fleet of Douglas DC-3s is assembled, allowing Nigeria Airways, Ltd. to begin serving, on October 1, the internal routes flown by the old WAAC. Additionally, a joint service with Ghana Airways, Ltd. is operated to Dakar.
A wet-leased Boeing 377 Stratocruiser launches return London to Lagos service, also in October.
Enplanements for WAAC/WAAC (Nigeria), Ltd. this year are 72,763.
The BOAC aircraft contract is modified slightly, on April 16, 1959, in that a Bristol Britannia 102 replaces the Stratocruiser as the equipment used on the Lagos-London service. It should be noted that, between 1958 and 1961, the Stratocruisers and Britannias employed on the international services are various individual units instead of dedicated aircraft. Domestic schedules and frequencies are increased.
Bookings, however, are down to 57,866, due largely to the independence movement.
Nigerian independence arrives on October 1, 1960. Passenger boardings for the year reach 82,429.
The new government of Nigeria assumes full ownership of the airline in March 1961 and establishes it as the national carrier, appointing Chief J. O. Fadahunsi as chairman. The fleet now includes 7 DC-3s and 1 wet-leased Britannia 102, with orders outstanding for 4 DH 114s and 2 Piper PA-23 Aztecs.
In August, the BOAC agreement is again modified, providing for the lease of a pair of Vickers VC10s. The following month, firm orders are placed for five Fokker F.27-200s, with two options.
The Herons and Aztecs are received in 1962 and placed into service, with the latter flying over local routes out of Kano. In collaboration with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), Comet 4 services to London begins on April 1.
Chief I. O. Dafe becomes chairman at the beginning of 1963, with
T. D. Kumar as general manager. The first Fokker F.27-200 arrives in January and is christened Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. The first black crew, including Capt. R. E. Hayes and copilot R. Orimoloye, performs the inaugural Friendship service on March 19 from Lagos to Kaduna.
The last Fokker, Chief Samuel Akintola, arrives on May 9, by which time the other F.27-200s, including Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Dr. M. L. Okpara, and Alhaji Sir Ahmadu_Bello, are also visiting Abidjan, Accra, Bathurst, Dakar, Freetown, and Robertsfield. A new eight-year arrangement is entered into with BOAC, also in May.
F.27-200s begin to replace DC-3s, beginning in June, on routes to the Congo, Gambia, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. The Aztecs are also withdrawn from scheduled services during the second quarter, and are assigned to operate passenger and cargo charters.
One DC-3C continues to operate an all-cargo route from Kano to Lagos, while a second flies a weekly roundtrip milk run from Kano to Accra via Cotonou and Lome. An ?800,000 Lagos maintenance center is dedicated by Nigerian President Nnamdi Azikiwe on December 13.
During the early spring of 1964, a new pool agreement is signed with Ghana Airways, Ltd. Under its terms, Nigeria Airways and its partner are able to launch new weekly frequencies on April 1 from Accra to Kano, to Addis Ababa via Kano and Khartoum, and to Beirut via Cairo. The arrangement also provides one other rather unique feature. Nigeria Airways F.27-200s operate cabotage flights on Ghana’s internal routes, while Ghana Airways Viscount 838s fly from Accra to Lagos for the benefit of both operators.
General Manager Kumar dies in June. He is succeeded on an interim basis by Lionel “Buddy” Messenger.
The U. S. CAB approves Nigeria Airways in September for service to New York. As Nigeria possesses no aircraft capable of transatlantic service, the company enters into a block-space agreement with Pan American World Airways (1). The deal allows Nigeria Airways, which has guaranteed the American pioneer that it will sell or pay for 10 seats per weekly frequency, to sign a pool agreement with Ghana Airways, Ltd. that will help market the service throughout West Africa.
The first westbound B-707-321B flight departs Lagos for New York (JFK) on October 18 via Accra, Robertsfield, and Dakar; the first service from the U. S. back to Lagos occurs on October 23.
Acting General Manager Messenger is succeeded by J. D. Reichel in early 1965. Civil war and poor management appointments (often political or religious) during the next six years will create administrative chaos. During these years, operations are maintained under wartime conditions.
A VC10, leased in full Nigerian livery from British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), begins weekly return service between Lagos and London in January 1966. The fleet now includes 5 F.27-200s, 6 DC-3s, and 2 Aztecs.
Having gone without pay for several weeks, the carrier’s pilots strike during January 1967, forcing the airline to suspend most of its domestic schedule.
Also at home, the government-owned airline halts service to the secessionist eastern region of Biafra on April 5; on April 23, five rebels take over an F.27-200, with 29 passengers en route from Benin City to
Lagos, and force it to land at Enugu, the eastern regional capital. At month’s end, the company introduces new anti-hijacking security measures.
In May, two B-707 Stratoliners are leased from foreign airlines to inaugurate annual Hadj flights to Jeddah.
To counter a rebel airlift organized by mercenary Capt. Hank Wharton, which will operate four Lockheed L-1049Gs Super Constellations in coordination with the Rhodesian charter line Air Trans Africa (Pty.), Ltd., the Nigerian government, beginning in June, takes over six Nigerian Airways DC-3s for use as bombers. Using small bombs, these fly nightly from Benin City to attack the Connies attempting to land at Uli, which had become the major secessionist airfield after the capture of the airports at Enugu and Port Harcourt. During the airlift, the Lockheeds are able to complete several supply flights each week, each bringing the mercenary pilots ?10,000 in combat pay.
Upon the return in July of the captured VC10, its lease is terminated by BOAC. Nigeria Airways reports at the end of the month that the leased Stratoliners have flown a total of 8,000 Hadj pilgrims this year.
The battle at night between the rebel-supported Super Constellations and the Dakota airliners continues into 1968. The Nigerians acquire five more DC-3s from Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A., while the rebels are reinforced by four more L-1049Gs. One of these crashes early in the year and a second is sabotaged at Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, before it can fly in with a load of Fouga Magister jet trainers for the Bi-afran air force. The airlift ends in mid - February and thereafter, several of the mercenaries’ L-1049Gs are impounded when they make refueling stops at Malta. Another Super Constellation, chartered by the Red Cross, crashes at Uli on July 1 (four dead). On September 28, a DC-4 with 57 aboard crashes between Lagos and Port Harcourt; there are no survivors.
All three L-1049Hs owned by Nordair, Ltd. are leased to Canairelief, sponsored by the Presbyterian Church of Canada, and begin flying aid shipments into Uli, Biafra, early in 1969. On August 3, one of the Canadian Super Constellations crashes while landing at Uli.
One leased and one purchased British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Vickers VC10s, meanwhile, continue to provide long-haul service for Nigeria Airways. In addition to the London service, the VC10s also operate from Lagos and Kano to Frankfurt via Leopoldville, Madrid, and Rome.
On initial approach to Lagos on November 20 from London, Flight 925, the owned VC10 with 11 crew and 76 passengers and just 2 months into its service life, sinks below its normal path and strikes a row of trees 8 nm. from the runway; the plane crashes and catches fire from which no one aboard survives.
Nigerian fighter planes strafe and destroy a second Nordair, Ltd. L-1049H at Uli Airport on December 7.
Biafra, which has had its life prolonged by the outsider’s airlift, finally surrenders in January 1970. Also during the month, Birger Groen-lund becomes managing director and oversees a workforce of 2,200.
The B-707-379C and B-707-360C Stratoliners of Ethiopian Airlines, S. C. are both chartered in June. The former will return to Addis Ababa within 13 months, but the latter will be operated by the West African carrier until 1973. A B-737-248A is wet-leased from Aer Lingus Irish Airlines, Ltd. in October.
While taking off from Jos, Nigeria, on April 4, 1971, an F.27-200 with 3 crew and 38 passengers, swerves off the right side of the runway and into a mound of gravel; although the aircraft is badly damaged, there are no fatalities.
Nigeria Airways’ second owned jetliner, a Boeing 707-3F9C, arrives on May 17 and the airline’s present official title is adopted five days later. In November, joint venture flights commence with Middle East Airlines, S. A.L. over routes from Kano and Lagos to Beirut.
European destinations visited in 1972 include Frankfurt, Madrid, and Rome and the route network is nearly 7,000 unduplicated miles. The domestic fleet includes 7 F.27-200s, 5 DC-3s, and 2 Aztecs. Three F.28-1000s are acquired in May.
One of the new F.28-1000s runs off the runway after landing at Port Harcourt on September 19; there are no fatalities in the accident, but the aircraft is damaged beyond repair.
As a replacement, the airline, in October, introduces the world’s first operational F.28-2000. A management contract is signed with Trans World Airlines (TWA) on October 21, but will not be implemented.
Two B-707-3F9Cs are delivered in February 1973, allowing the Ethiopian Airlines, S. C. B-707-360C to be returned. Flights continue apace in 1974, but a wage dispute with pilots grounds the airline’s domestic operations for a time after May 12, 1975.
A third B-707-3F9C is delivered at the end of September 1976. It replaces the VC10 transatlantic schedule on October 14. Shortly thereafter, two B-727-2F9s are received, together with a DC-10-30.
During 1977, routes are opened to Paris and Zurich in Europe and to New York. In Africa, routes are maintained to Abidjan, Accra, Banjul, Conakry, Dakar, Douala, Freetown, Lome, and Monrovia, while new ones are opened to Kinshasa, Libreville, Nairobi, and Niamey, plus 19 local stops.
An F.27-200 with 4 crew and 19 passengers is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Sokoto on April 25; there are no fatalities.
When the annual Hadj season opens in May, the new DC-10-30, configured for all-economy-class service, is able to deliver 300 pilgrims at a time on every return flight between Kano and Jeddah.
Chairman J. A. Orshi’s carrier employs 4,493 workers in 1978. While on initial approach to Kano on March 1, an F.28-1000 with 5 crew and 11 passengers collides 2 km. from the end of the runway with a 2-man Nigerian Air Force MIG 21U, which is performing touch-and-goes; all aboard both aircraft are killed.
In 1979, the government entrusts the carrier’s management to KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.); the Dutch carrier takes over the administration and trains personnel under contract.
Scheduled service is launched to Jeddah in 1980 as seven leased B-737-200s and four owned B-737-2F9As join the fleet, along with a second owned DC-10-30.
Enplanements reach 1,699,660.
The KLM contract ends in 1981. The fleet now comprises 3 B-707-3F9Cs, 8 F.28-1000/2000s, 7 leased B-737-200s, plus 4 B-737-2F9As, 6 B-727-2F9As, and 3 DC-10-30s, 1 of which is leased from Philippine Airlines (PAL).
Freight traffic skyrockets 76% to 15.6 million FTKs and passenger boardings jump 27.4% to 2,341,129.
A B-747-283B is wet-leased from SAS (Scandinavian Airline System) on March 31, 1982; painted in the company’s green and white livery with its flying elephant logo on the tail, the Jumbojet assumes the service from Lagos to London via Kano. The aircraft is returned on June 1 and is replaced by two more of the same type two days later. Competition from charter carriers Intercontinental Airlines, Kabo Air, Ltd., and Okada Air, Ltd. offering lower fares on the more heavily traveled routes outside the country begin to have a serious impact.
Despite the introduction of a new Jumbojet route from Lagos to New York, passenger bookings fall to 2,138,000 as a result of the world economic situation.
Jan Smit becomes managing director at the beginning of 1983. Orders are placed with Airbus Industrie for four A310-222s, but financing is uncertain. The F.27-200s are now replaced by B-737s, including three more owned B-737-2F9As delivered by spring.
While on final approach to Enugu on November 28, an F.28-2000 with 6 crew and 66 passengers, suddenly noses down and collides with the terrain 18 nm. short of the runway (53 dead).
Still, enplanements recover, growing to 2,223,117 on 28,627 scheduled departures.
A military coup in 1984 brings a new government and a management shakeup at the state airline. Nigerian Air Force Group Captain Bernard Banfa is appointed managing director and many of the KLM-trained personnel are dismissed. After its last service on March 5, a B-747-283B is returned to SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System).
Late in the year after the government agrees to provide funds, the first two A310-222s are delivered; only one receives a name, River Ethiope, but both are assigned to African routes. The second Scandinavian Jum-bojet is returned.
Passenger bookings for the year drop to 2,070,000; of the 450,000 international bookings, most come from Nigerian citizens paying in Nigerian funds.
The largest airline in Black Africa receives its second pair of A310-222s, Rima River and Lekki Peninsula, in January 1985. The B-727-2F9As and F.28-1000/2000s are put up for sale and the number of B-737s is reduced to the seven owned Dash-2F9As, including three wet-leased to Air Tara.
A310-222 service is launched in April to Ehugu, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, and Port Harcourt.
During the summer, a cargo terminal is completed at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed (formerly Ikeja) Airport. Passenger boardings dip as the government gives the company low priority and barely provides for its essential needs, ignoring its ability to earn foreign currency.
The situation deteriorates badly in 1986, despite the May appointment of Anthony Ehije Okpere as managing director. The government is forced to expend nearly $96 million to keep its national carrier afloat during the year.
On July 24, a B-747-283BC is re-leased from SAS (Scandinavian Airline System); christened Spirit of Courage, it reintroduces routes to London and New York.
While practicing touch-and-go landings at Ilorin on January 10, 1987, a DC-10-30 with nine crew overshoots the runway, crashes, and catches fire; although the wide-body must be written off, there are no fatalities.
Also during the first quarter, the carrier divides its international and domestic operations, flying the latter under the name Air Nigeria, Ltd. A DC-10-30 and an A310-222 are transferred to the new operation.
By April, the carrier’s cumulative debt is an almost unbelievable $116 billion. In September, the International Monetary Fund recommends the airline’s privatization to the Nigerian government.
The company goes bankrupt and it lays of a third of its staff during the fourth quarter; international operations are now reduced as three A310-222s are under repair leaving only the one leased Boeing Jumbo-jet, an A310-222, and a DC-10-30 to carry the international and regional load. Unpaid for certain services, Air India, Ltd. attaches the A310-222 at Lagos, forcing payment of a bond several weeks later to secure its release. Nigeria begins legal action against the Asian major and suspends its operations to Lagos. The year’s deficit is $87 million and payments are stopped on foreign loans contracted prior to the current year.
Although plans are made to purchase seven Avions de Transport Regional ATR42s early in 1988, the company’s continuing financial difficulties force the idea to be suspended. A $350,000 deposit on the turboprops must be forfeited.
Cost-cutting measures are put in place; the staff is cut and a number of unprofitable local and regional routes, including those to Cotonou, Dakar, Kinshasa, and Nairobi, are ended or transferred to Okada Air, Ltd. Okada does not want the unprofitable routes and sues to prevent their acquisition.
Meanwhile, relations with the French aircraft industry sour as the carrier is unable to meet its obligations to Airbus Industrie and Sogerma concerning the purchase and technical support of its A310 fleet. On June 30, the Scandinavian Jumbojet lease ends and the Spirit of Courage returns to Sweden.
A B-737-2F9A with 132 passengers makes a bad landing at Port Har-court on October 15; although the aircraft is damaged, no serious injuries are reported.
At the end of the year, Nigerian President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida appoints a presidential task force under Air Vice Marshal Abdullah D. Bello to “straighten out Nigeria Airways.”
Enplanements for the year total 994,072 (216,693 international) and freight traffic allows is up by 3.6% to 17.8 million FTKs. Accumulated losses through December 31 total the equivalent of $250 million.
In April 1989, Nigeria begins to increase frequencies on the greatly reduced Lagos to London service and to maintain flights on to New York. Several of the unprofitable routes suspended the previous year are restarted, including those to Cotonou, Dakar, Kinshasa, and Nairobi.
In July, the airline is able to acquire, through loans from the Equator Bank, the last DC-10-30 to come off the production line; the aircraft is also the last to officially bear the famous “DC” designation first employed for the Douglas DC-1 in 1933. In order to resume flights to Lagos in November, the airline, in October, drops its legal action against Air India, Ltd. and waives the bond that had secured the French-made airliner’s release.
By order of French courts, two A310-222s are seized in 1990 for default of payment. Also, the ATR42 order is cancelled. Following a change in the long-standing relationship with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.), DC-10-30 technical support is now provided by Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A.
Statistics, available only for the first quarter, show enplanements up 9.2% (200,000) over the same period a year earlier. Freight, on the other hand, skyrockets 126.5% to 7 million FTKs. The Nigerian government’s presidential task force introduces a new management structure with Air Vice Marshal Bello now managing director.
Airline employment stands at 6,600 in 1991 and the fleet now includes 4 A310-222s, 2 of which are out of service, 3 B-707-3F9Cs, 2 of which are out of service in France, 7 B-737-2F9As, and 1 owned and 1 leased DC-10-30. An order is outstanding for a McDonnell Douglas MD-11. The B-707-3F9C Olumo Rock continues to handle the carrier’s all-freight contracts.
As the result of refinancing and improved relations between the airline and the Toulouse-based manufacturer of its jetliners, France releases the two A310-222s.
Traffic figures are reported for only one quarter and show bookings up 11.4% to 256,006 and cargo up 6.4% to 5.23 million FTKs.
Following dissolution of the presidential task force in April, former Information Minister Prince Tony Momoh is appointed the carrier’s new chairman in May, with Capt. Mohammed Joji as managing director.
Two tires aboard Flight 2120, a DC-8-61 with 14 crew and 247 passengers leased from Nationair Canada, Ltd. en route on a Hadj flight from Jeddah to Sokoto on July 11, burst and catch fire. The fire spreads to the aircraft, which crashes and burns during an attempted emergency landing back at the point of origin. There are no survivors.
In August, it is reported that the airline is deep in debt to the three European airlines that provide its technical support: Aer Lingus Irish Airlines, Ltd. ($7 million), KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) ($3 million), and Sabena (Belgian World Airlines, S. A.) ($11 million).
Passenger bookings for the first six months of 1992, which are all of the traffic statistics publicized this year, are up 29.5% to 350,371.
Still in deep financial trouble, 32% of the schedule is dropped, with service withdrawn to Conakry, Freetown, and Robertsfield. Nine aircraft are grounded.
Plans are announced in July for the company’s privatization. Under the schedule, 80% of the company will be split between foreign and domestic investors, with the remaining 20% staying in government possession.
Financial difficulties continue for the carrier in 1993. By now the workforce has been cut to 4,516 and a number of unprofitable routes remain suspended. The fleet comprises 4 A310-222s, 2 of which are out of service in France, 7 B-737-2F9As, 1 of which is out of service, with another held in Brazil by VARIG Brazilian Airlines (Viacao Area de Rio Grandense, S. A.) due to nonpayment of a $2.7-million account, and 1 owned and 1 chartered DC-10-30.
A chartered B-707F is withdrawn, even as the government advances the carrier almost $70 million to settle maintenance invoices from European creditors. A large domestic network is maintained linking all 19 states. International flights are undertaken from Lagos to London, Rome, Amsterdam, New York, and Jeddah, from Kano to Amsterdam, London, Rome, and Jeddah, and from Port Harcourt to London.
In July, Managing Director Capt. Joji becomes chairman and is succeeded by Engineering Director Andrew Agom.
On October 25, an A310-222 with 153 aboard is hijacked by 4 pirates who demand to be flown to Frankfurt. The aircraft is forced to fly to neighboring Niger, where all but 59 hostages are released. Negotiations are undertaken with government authorities, during which the pirates demand democracy in Nigeria before they will surrender. Given that impossibility, security police storm the aircraft on October 28, capturing the lot. In the hail of gunfire, a crew member is killed.
Cost-cutting and route reduction activities continue apace in 1994. The Brazilians continue to hold the company’s “Baby Boeing” while a payment dispute with Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A. in July holds up D-checks due at Brussels on a pair of A310-222s.
An A310-222 is seized at London (LHR) during the month for nonpayment over the past year of ?100,000 in landing fees and other costs; the British release the Airbus as soon as Nigeria pledges to pay the bill.
While en route from Jeddah on December 19, the B-707-3F9C Olumo Rock, with five crew, suffers smoke in its cabin. Having declared an emergency, the Stratofreighter is unable to make an emergency landing and crashes into marshland near Hadejia Town, Nigeria (three dead).
Operations at the financially strapped company limp along in 1995 as the company is banned from flying to the U. S. and U. K. Markets now visited include Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Amsterdam, Calabar, Conakry, Cotonou, Douala, Enugu, Jeddah, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Libreville, Lome, Makurdi, Port Harcourt, Rome, Sokoto, and Yola.
As a result of its continued poor showing, the airline is shaken up again during September, as the government replaces the entire management team. Although Capt. Joji retains his chairmanship, Group Capt. Peter N. Gana is appointed the new managing director. At the same time, Aviation Minister Air Commander Nsisak Edouk notes that the Nigeria Airports Authority and Federal Civil Aviation Authority will also merge.
Flight 357, a B-737-2F9A with 8 crew and 129 passengers departs Yola on November 13 on a service to Lagos via Jos and Kaduna. While landing at the intermediate stop at Kaduna, the little Boeing overruns the runway into dry grass, which catches fire. The aircraft is engulfed in flames and 9 passengers are killed before they can evacuate.
In 1996, the carrier reduces unprofitable services and cuts back on its workforce. In addition to its 4 A310-222s (those held in France having since been released), the fleet continues to operate B-737-2F9As on its domestic 12-point network.
One of the B-737-2F9As suffers a serious engine fire just after takeoff from Kano on March 12; although no casualties are reported from the aborted flight, the Boeing is heavily damaged.
Flights are also undertaken to regional destinations, plus Jeddah, London (LHR), and Rome. Service to Amsterdam is suspended.
Services are continued in 1997 with just four aircraft. Application is made to the aviation departments of both the U. S. and U. K. for authority to mount a resumption of services. The British government lifts its ban.
In March, the government imposes a doubling of domestic airline fares in an effort to provide additional income without more state subsidy. Also in March, Air Commodore Peter Gana is succeeded as managing director by Operations Director Alhaji Jani Ibrahim.
Cooperation begins with Cameroon Airlines, S. A. on that carrier’s service to Paris. In addition, plans are discussed with Ghana Airways, Ltd. concerning possible code-sharing on a Harare to Johannesburg service and for joint operations to New York once the U. S. ban is lifted.
Following the grounding of an unairworthy Nigerian-registered freighter at London (LHR) on May 15, the British Department of Transport bars Nigerian-registered aircraft from visiting the U. K. again until safety problems are resolved. The ban is imposed one day before Nigeria Airways is due to resume passenger flights to London.
In retaliation, the government of Nigeria requires that British Airways, Ltd. (2) halt its daily B-747-136 flights to Lagos and its thrice-weekly DC-10-30 service to Kano. The British line flies Nigeria-bound passengers to Accra in Ghana, from which they are able to make arrangement for air charter or ground transport into Nigeria.
Nigeria Airways has other problems, particularly a lack of capacity. As a result, Bellview Airlines, Ltd. begins twice-weekly contract replacement services on its behalf on June 20 from Lagos to Nairobi. Also on behalf of Nigeria Airways, a DC-10-30 is briefly chartered by Bellview Airlines, Ltd. to operate weekly roundtrip flights to Rio de Janeiro.
Nigeria Airways officials meet with their counterparts from Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. on September 29 to explore the possibility of joint operations between Lagos and London. Britain has banned Nigerian operations into the U. K. because of safety concerns.
Simon Tumba reports in the November issue of Airline Business that the airline industry in Nigeria is on the verse of collapse, with only 10 aircraft from 8 carriers left to provide domestic services for 90 million people.
By October, ADC Airlines, Ltd. has only one operational B-727, while Kabo Air, Ltd. has two. Bellview Airlines, Ltd. can fly only one DC-9, with Nigeria Airways, Ltd. and several small operators fly the remaining six. All call upon the government to politically and financially guarantee a restructuring of the industry.
The government promises to end Nigeria Airways’ international monopoly and accept applications from those wishing to fly to foreign points as a way of gaining hard currency. For example, Bellview Airlines, Ltd. is granted rights to Nairobi, Rio de Janerio, and Bombay— but has no aircraft with which to visit those points. The Bellview DC-932 does, however, begin multistop replacement service to Bombay in November.
Having concluded a code-sharing agreement with Bellview Airlines, Ltd., dual-designator service commences to Amsterdam in April 1998 employing a Nigeria Airways Airbus. It will now be reported that 172 million naira is lost on the joint, if short-lived, service.
After years of military rule and an annulled 1993 election, a free national election is held in Nigeria on February 27, 1999, with retired General Olusegun Obasanjo the victor. A return to democracy and representative government begins apace. Dr. (Mrs.) Kema Chikwe will become the new aviation minister.
Still hurting from the company’s treatment by BA and U. K. regulators over service from Lagos to London, officials of Nigeria Airways on March 15, according to an article by Tony Egbulefu in The News, have entered into a new, and controversial, pact with Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. Under terms of a memorandum of understanding signed between the two carriers (based on several years of discussions) and due to take effect in late April, a phased-in four-part arrangement between the companies lasting 15 years will eventually see profits—and losses — shared on a fifty-fifty basis. Virgin will use its good offices to help Nigeria in the employment of third parties to achieve resolution of its foreign debt problem. The document also calls for immediate termination of Nigeria’s partnership with British Airways, Ltd. (2) and a replacement of BA’s codes with its own on all of Nigeria’s services, including the lucrative routes from Lagos to Johannesburg, Amman, and Dubai. Legal penalties for abrogation of the BA pact are significant.
Vice Admiral Okhai Akhigbe, the chief of the general staff, challenges Chris Aligbe, Nigeria Airways director of corporate information, on behalf of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers. Aligbe informs the admiral and the press that no agreement, pact, or joint venture “has been contemplated or signed with Virgin Atlantic Airways.” The denial leads to speculation that the new arrangement will be scrubbed. In fact, it is only suspended, as negotiations are reopened.
The company goes temporarily out of business on April 5 when its B-737-2F9A taxies into the airline’s hangar in Ikeja, Lagos, for routine maintenance checks. The Tempo reviews the status of the fleet in print two days later. A B-737 marked 5N-AUB and a DC-10-30 marked 5N-ANN are both grounded in Jakarta, Indonesia, where they have been seized. The DC-10-30 4W KLM rots in Amsterdam, while the B0707s 5N ABK and 5N AND are grounded at the Irish cities of Dublin and Shannon, respectively. The A310-222 5N AUG, grounded in Brussels, has been sold by the Alhaji Jani Ibrahim-led management for $500,000. Four other B-737s and three A310-222s remain grounded in Lagos.
Speculation is renewed during the second week of April that a strategic agreement will soon be signed with Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. The airline’s two major unions—pilots and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE)—oppose the pact. The workers see deterioration at the national airline and criticize its recent expenditure of N$30 million to purchase properties in Marwa Gardens and a large number of new automobiles for managers. Pilots and flight attendants are upset by Clause 4.7 in the joint-venture agreement that forbids the use of Nigerian deck and cabin crew members.
Placard-carrying NUATE members picket Airways House on April 13 protesting the VAA development. The union members fear the loss of jobs should the British airline takeover management of their carrier.
Capt. Mohammed Joji, general secretary of the Airways Operators of Nigeria, sends a strongly worded five-page document to the national government on April 27 protesting the proposed commercial agreement between Nigeria Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. The document warns the country’s leaders not to allow Nigeria to be turned into a battlefield by VAA and competing British Airways, Ltd. (2).
On the last day of the month, Lagos lawyer Femi Falana files suit at the Federal High Court on behalf of all of the dissatisfied parties seeking to have the agreement declared “illegal, unconstitutional, null and void” and to obtain a perpetual injunction to restrain Nigeria Airways from signing the document “in any manner whatsoever.”
Reviewing the situation for the Lagos-based The Times on May 1, reporter Tunde Ojudun writes: “As things stand, NAL cannot unilaterally terminate the BA agreement without dire legal consequences. Neither can it sign the pact with Virgin without dire and financial results.” The proposed commercial agreement has now become the media circus it was never meant to be.
The controversies surrounding the grounded fleet, salary arrears, possible inflated and fraudulent payments, and the Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. compact will lead to a management change at the airline. Capt. Ibrahim is succeeded as managing director by Edmund Abayomi Jones.
As part of the partnership alliance with British Airways, Ltd. (2), a new joint service between London (LHR) and Lagos begins on December 1. BA supplies a B-747-236B wearing a computer-generated “green wave” livery, pilots, and several of the cabin crew; a number of Nigerian flight attendants also serve. A six-year ban on flights to the U. S. due to lax security measures at Lagos Airport is listed during the month.
Enplanements on the year’s 3,464 scheduled departures total 109,214. That passenger figure represents a 95% reduction from the 2 million annual boarding high point back in 1983; the departure figure is down 88% from the 28,627 of 1983.
Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 stands at 2,595. In keeping with the new government’s efforts to root out corruption in state enterprises, a six-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry is established under Justice Obiora Bwazota (Ret.) in February to look into the activities of Nigeria Airways, Ltd. between 1980 and 1999.
Also during the first quarter, Nigeria Airways opens discussions with Air France, British Airways, Ltd. (2), KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines,
N. V.), Ghana Airways, Ltd., Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G., and Swissair, A. G. in its search to find a partner willing to join it in flights to the U. S. A decision will be recommended to Aviation Minister Chikwe by a facilitation committee under the chairmanship of Engineer Zakari Haruna.
For the summer season that begins at the end of March, Nigeria makes a number of increases to its weekly domestic schedule from Lagos. Flights boosted include those to Port Harcourt (2 to 6), Abuja (10 to 16), Yola (2 to 3), Kaduna (2 to 3), Maiduguri (3 to 4), Yola (2 to 3), and Kano (2 to 3). Flights to Calabar and Sokoto will be flown weekly.
The Justice Obiora Bwazota Judicial Commission of Inquiry (JOB-JCI) begins public hearings at Abuja in April with plans to take evidence from some 60 witnesses, including onetime Minister of Transport and Aviation Lt. Gen. Jeremiah Useni (Ret.) and the airline’s former managing director, Maj. Gen. Olu Bajowa (Ret.). Later plans call for another 65 witnesses to be examined in Lagos hearings.
Turning over hundreds of documents, former Director of Finance Mrs. Abosede Olutayo Oluwe testifies twice before the Commission at the end of April. Citing dates and instances during her tenure, she reports that in 17 years, the company may have lost 423 million naira due to improper bookkeeping and another 200 million naira through misappropriation. In 1997 alone she reports, approximately 180 million naira was paid out to various creditors without vouchers, with another 361 million naira paid to outstations with no receipts kept.
In testimony at the beginning of May, former Managing Director Air Commodore Peter Gana (Ret.) reveals that a number of staff had colluded with an insurance company, both in Nigeria and abroad, to swindle the airline through inflated insurance premiums. In 1996, for example, Nigeria Airways paid 22 million naira in premiums, a 20% increase over the 2% figure paid earlier.
Former Managing Director Ibrahim gives testimony before the Commission in mid-May. Among his more startling revelations is the story of the woman “Nita” employed by the carrier as a sales agent in New York during his days as operations director. It was her practice for some years to charge customers 150-200 naira above the posted airfare for every ticket sold on the New York to London route and pocket the difference. When Aviation Minister Tony Graham-Douglas canceled her contract, the woman, apparently highly connected in the Nigerian government, sued the airline. The case, according to Ibrahim, was later withdrawn and settled out of court after Nigerian Airways agreed to pay damages.
The onetime managing director confirms earlier reports that the Fidelity and Insurance Brokers concern had, indeed, clandestinely won the insurance accounts of NAL and thereafter tripled the premium price.
A two-day strike by airport workers protesting higher petroleum prices begins on June 8, forcing cancellation of all company services from Lagos Airport. The deadline for proposals for a joint venture between Lagos and New York closes on June 30.
In June, the carrier enters into discussions with the new Albark Airlines, Ltd. concerning the possibility of joint service to New York, once the U. S. FAA gives clearance. Clearance for a resumption of service to the U. S. is received from Washington, D. C. the following month
AirlinersOnline. Com reports on July 12 that the airline is down to just three aircraft in operating condition and that the Nigerian government has received a consultant’s recommendation that the company be liquidated. DC-10-30 twice-weekly return service to Dubai is resumed on July 16 after the wide-body’s engines have been refurbished.
On July 21, Nigerian Aviation Minister Chikwe announces that the flag carrier will join with South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. on the launch of flights to New York (JFK) on August 15. SAAhas won the bid over Ghana Airways, Ltd. by also agreeing to help the Nigerians refurbish their grounded B-737-200 fleet.
On August 8, the carrier formally signs a contract with South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. under which it agrees to resume New York service on behalf of the Lagos-based flag carrier. Under the pact, SAA will provide a Jumbojet with seating for 330 passengers, out of which 109 are assigned to the Nigerians.
Under contract, a SAA B-747-344 undertakes a promotional flight, code-shared with Delta Air Lines, on behalf of Nigeria Airways on August 15 between Lagos and New York (JFK). Aboard are SAA Chairman Behki Sibiya and President/CEO Coleman Andrews; Engineer Zakari Haruna, representing the Nigerian Minister of Aviation; Nigeria Airways CEO Edmund Abayomi Jones; chairmen of the Nigerian House and Senate aviation committees; seven journalists; and a full complement of executives from the two airlines, plus travel agents. Five more such roundtrips will be operated by the end of October.
The JOBJCI resumes its public hearings at Court Four of the Ikeja High Court at Lagos on August 23. Among the 65 people giving testimony are Sen. Jim Nwobodo; the chief executives of NAL Insurance, Nicon Insurance Corporation, Alliance and General Insurance, and Fidelity and Insurance Brokers; former Aviation Ministers Capt. Benoi Briggs and RAdm. Patrick Koshoni (Ret.); former Managing Director
Ibrahim; Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises Alhaji Mohammed El-Rufai; and the Nigeria Airways general managers at Jeddah, Maiduguri, and Jos.
Following a four-year interruption, a Nigerian Airways DC-10-30 resumes weekly Lagos to London (LHR) return service on September 5 in association with British Airways, Ltd. (2). The B-747 committed to the joint venture between the two airlines is now withdrawn and replaced with a B-777-236ER.
The next day, tempers flare at the JOBJCI hearings when former Managing Director Ibrahim deflects a question as to how a huge sum of 405 million naira was paid out by NAL between April and June 1999 with vouchers raised for just 22 million naira of that amount. He also refuses to justify his failure to change acquisition procedures at the NAL engineering division, even after it was revealed that its director and his deputies were acquiring, storing, using, and losing aircraft parts without any records. The director, he suggests, was incompetent but forthright; without experience, he was simply unable to cope with the management of people possibly engaged in outright fraud.
Upon hearing these comments and deeming them inadequate, Chairman Justice Nwazota faces the former airline leader and bluntly, according to the September 7 issue of the Lagos Vanguard Daily, informs him: “Alhaji Jani, by now, you should know that the game is up! All these lapses we have been pointing your attention to were robust avenues for perpetration of big time fraud.”
It is not Ibrahim, however, who is indicated for wrongdoing, but his predecessor, Air Commodore Gana (Ret.) On September 25, the JOBJCI accuses the former managing director of wrecking NAL to the tune of 4.5 billion naira during his 18-month tenure in 1995-1997. Found particularly unacceptable were his failed or grossly inflated contract awards to banks and aircraft repair companies, for which he had blamed deputies during his testimony. Asked to comment on this damnation of his stewardship, Gana informs the Lagos This Day simply: “I did my best.”
British Airways, Ltd. (2) Chairman Lord Marshall visits Nigeria on October 26 to discuss future partnership activities between his carrier and NAL. On October 27, the joint-venture document with BA is renewed for another year; two days later, BA places a B-777-236 on its London to Lagos.
For the New York charter frequencies due to be turned into thrice-weekly scheduled roundtrips on October 31, SAA has painted a Jumbo-jet in a special joint color scheme. Before the service can be launched, however, there is a dispute over the number of seats Nigeria Airways will be allowed to sell under the August agreement. The impasse forces the start-up to be put on hold
On November 5, arrangements are completed for the charter of a DC-10-30 from Ghana Airways, Ltd. for the period from late December into April. The timeframe will cover Christian and Muslim pilgrimages to the Mideast for Christmas and Hadj observances.
The process of privatization is reported on November 10. The government is prepared to sell off 90% of the carrier, including 10% to workers, 20% to interested Nigerians, 20% to institutional investors, and 40% to foreign investors, including airlines. It is further noted that British Airways, Ltd. (2), KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.), Singapore Airlines, Ltd., Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd., and South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. have all expressed an interest in placing bids.
Nigerian Aviation Minister Chikwe personally works to make certain that the arrangement with the South Africans does not collapse; after diplomatic intervention, the dispute with South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. is settled on November 11. The same day, it is reported that the joint flights to the U. S. will takeoff in December; they will not, in fact, begin until February 21.
A B-727-2H9A is wet-leased from JAT Yugoslav Airlines on November 13. The dispute with South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. is settled on the same day.
Reuters, Ltd. reports on November 16 that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has removed more than 450 unsafe aircraft from the national register of licensed planes. Most, including 10 previously operated by Nigeria Airways, were abandoned at various airports in different, but acute, states of disrepair. The Nigerian Airways aircraft include five B-737-2F9As and five A310-222s.
Recommendations of a World Bank-sponsored study of the airline by the International Finance Corporation are accepted in December, including the replacement of Nigeria Airways with a new national flag carrier. The government, after reviewing the report, indicates that it will move forward with its current privatization plans seeking tenders for a “clean slate” new entrant. If all goes as scheduled, the process of finding new ownership will be completed by June, at which point all licenses, aircraft, staff, and facilities will be turned over to a new national airline, probably with a new moniker.
The report will be released to the News Agency of Nigeria on February 28 and show the airline to be technically insolvent with a trade debt of $67 million.
NIGERIAN AIR SERVICES, LTD.: Nigeria (1946-1947). NASL is set up at Lagos in 1946 under order of the West African colonial government. A contract is entered into with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) to provide twice-weekly Douglas DC-3 roundtrips linking the capital city with Jos, Kano, and Port Harcourt.
The newly formed West African Airways Corporation assumes authority for the Lagos to Kano service in October 1947. When its contract ends in December, BOAC turns over responsibility for the Jos and Port Harcourt routes as well.
NIGHT EXPRESS (LUFTVERKEHRSGESELLSCHAFT, mbH.): Building 511, Room 3056, Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, D-60549, Germany; Phone 49 (0) 69 690 45751; Fax 49 (0) 69 690 22101; Http://www. london-luton. com/cargo/nightexpress/nexpress. htm; Code EXT; Year Founded 1984. Night Express, sister carrier to Night Express, Ltd., is founded at Frankfurt in 1984 to provide express services to a number of domestic destinations. Revenue operations, coordinated with the British company, are started and continued by one each Beech 99 and Beech King Air 90.
The King Air is withdrawn in 1993 and in 1994 is replaced by another Beech 99. “just-in-time” charter flights are now introduced.
Revenue flights continue in 1995-1998. During these years, a Cessna 208 Caravan I is acquired and the companies also operate nightly cargo flights (except Saturdays) on their “home” route Frankfurt-London (CTN)-Frankfurt.
Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 totals 12, 10 of whom are flightcrew.
NIGHT EXPRESS, LTD.: Hangar 129, Room 14, Prince Way, London Luton Airport, Luton, England, LU2 9PD, United Kingdom; Phone 44 (0) 1582 738585; Fax 44 (0) 1582 738588; Http://www. london-luton. com/cargo/nightexpress/nexpress. htm; Year Founded 1984. Night Express, Ltd., sister carrier to Night Express (Luftverkehrsgesellschaft, mbH.), is established at London’s Luton Airport in 1984 to operate scheduled and contract freight flights from England into Northwest Europe. Regular nightly express cargo flights, closely coordinated with the German partner, are made to Dublin, Brussels, and Frankfurt with a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain and two Beech 99s.
“Just-in-time” cargo charters are introduced during the early 1990s and the fleet is increased by the addition of a Cessna 208 Caravan I. Nightly cargo flights (except Saturdays) continue on the two carrier’s “home” route of London (CTN)-Frankfurt-London (CTN).
NIHON KINKYORI AIRWAYS COMPANY, LTD. (NKK) (JAPANESE SHORTHAUL AIRWAYS COMPANY, LTD.): Japan (19741987). The Japanese Shorthaul Airways Company, Ltd. is founded at Tokyo in 1974 to provide scheduled commuter services to destinations in northern, central, and southwestern Japan. Shareholders include Japan Air
Lines Company, Ltd., All-Nippon Airways Company, Ltd. (ANA), and Toa Domestic Airlines, Ltd. The fleet grows to include 8 Nihon YS-11As, 2 de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otters, and by 1982, a single Boeing 737-200. Destinations, many of which are replacement flights for ANA, include Fukue, Fukuoka, Hakodate, Iki, Kagoshima, Miyake Jima, Monbetsu, Nagasaki, Nemuro Nakashibetsu, Okushiri, Oshima, Rashiri, Rebun, Sapporo, Tokyo, and Wakkanai.
Enplanements in 1982 (fiscal year ending on March 31, 1983) total 798,000.
While on final approach to Sapporo on March 11, 1983, a YS-11A-208 with 6 crew and 47 passengers lands 100 m. short of the runway in 40-cm. deep snow, breaking up; there are no fatalities.
Passenger boardings for the year climb to 926,620.
Passenger boardings average just over a million by the middle 1980s. The fleet is upgraded by the addition of three B-727-200s and in April 1987, the carrier is renamed Air Nippon Company, Ltd.
NIHON KOKU KABUSHIKI KAISHA (NKKK). See JAPAN AIR TRANSPORT COMPANY, LTD.
NIHON KOKU YUSO KABUSHIKI KAISHA (NKYKK). See JAPAN AIR TRANSPORT COMPANY, LTD.
NIHON SANGYO AIRWAYS, LTD. (JAPAN INDUSTRY AERO SERVICE, LTD.): Japan (1983-1987). Founded at Osaka on December 25, 1967, Japan Industry Aero Service, Ltd. commences nonsched-uled flights on April 1, 1968. From Yao Airport, the company builds up a nationwide network of passenger and cargo charter and contract service destinations.
By the end of the 1970s, the fleet comprises 13 Cessna 172s, 5 Cessna 150s, 1 Cessna 206, 1 Cessna 207, and 1 Beech Bonanza. Early in 1983, the 70-employee firm elects to begin scheduled passenger commuter service linking its base with Nanki Shirahama on the island of Honshu. Two Cessna 402s are acquired to undertake the route, which is maintained until 1987.
NIHON SANGYO KOKU COMPANY, LTD. See NIHON SANGYO AIRWAYS, LTD. (JAPAN INDUSTRYAERO SERVICE, LTD.
NIHON YURAN HIKO (JAPAN SIGHTSEEING FLYING COMPANY, LTD.). See FUJITAAIRLINES COMPANY, LTD.
NIKOLAEVSK-NA-AMUR AIR ENTERPRISE: Russia (19922001). The former Aeroflot Soviet Airlines Nikolavsk-na-Amure division is reformed into a joint stock company in 1992. Under the direction of Comdr. Valeri Domatov, the company restarts scheduled and charter domestic passenger and cargo flights around its region with a fleet of 9 Let L-410s and 4 Yakovlev Yak-40s.
Service is silently maintained over the remainder of the decade and into the new millennium. During these years, the fleet is changed to include 6 L-410UVPs, 2 L-410-UVP-Es, and the 4 Yak-40s.
This carrier will be merged into Dalavia on April 1, 2001. On May 4, the two will be joined with Vostok Airlines, effective August 1, to form Khabarovskavia.
NILE DELTA AIR SERVICE, LTD.: Egypt (1976-1986). NDAS is established at Cairo in 1976 as an affiliate of the French rotary-wing operator Heli-Union, S. A. Two Douglas DC-3s are acquired and beginning in the spring of 1977, are employed to fly passenger and contract cargo services in support of the national energy industry.
One of the two DC-3s with seven passengers crashes into the Mediterranean on November 5, 1978; there are no survivors. It is replaced with a Fokker F.27-100.
Operations continue apace thereafter and without incident until the carrier shuts its doors in 1986.
NILE VALLEY AVIATION, LTD.: Egypt (1977-1987). The first indigenous Egyptian concern to be licensed to offer air transport during the past 20 years, NVA is set up at Cairo in 1977. For the next 10 years, the company offers charter passenger and contract service flights with 4 Partenavia P.68s.
NIPPON CARGO AIRLINES COMPANY, LTD. (NCA): 14F Shi-royama JT Mori Building, 4-3-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105, Japan; Phone 81 (3) 5401 4500; Fax 81 (3) 5401 4807; http:// Www. ananet. or. jp/nca; Code KZ; Year Founded 1978. Once known as Nippon Air Cargo Company, Ltd., NCA is formed at Tokyo on September 21, 1978. Ownership is divided between All-Nippon Airways Company, Ltd. (ANA) and four shipping lines: Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Lines), Mitsui OSK Lines, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), and Yamashita-Shinnihon Steamship Company (YS Lines). Onetime Ministry of Transport head and YS Lines Chairman Takeo Hori becomes chairman, with Hisayoshi Terai as executive vice president. An application for scheduled all-cargo certification is made to the government on November 16.
Action on the requested permits is not forthcoming until early in the 1980s, when the cargo carrier wins backing from the Keidandren, a group of important Japanese economic associations. This confederation pushes the airline’s case.
Japanese government permits are finally awarded in August 1983 and in November, much to the chagrin of Japan Air Lines Company, Ltd. (2), NCA is designated the nation’s second cargo carrier to the U. S.
After these political successes, the all-cargo enterprise applies to the
U. S. CAB in early 1984 for scheduled authority to operate freighter flights to the U. S. At this point, the company becomes the flash point for bilateral government-to-government air negotiations, later known as “open skies,” which, even after initial resolution, will flare again just over a decade later. The first of two $100 million (each) Boeing 747-281F freighters ordered for transpacific service is acquired from a leasing firm on December 13. Without U. S. permission in hand, it must be parked.
ANA supplies the second cargo-hauler on February 28, 1985; it, too, is parked at Tokyo (NRT) incurring daily maintenance costs.
After marathon talks, studies, presentations, and representations, by bureaus, airlines, organizations, and individuals, an agreement is finally signed between the U. S. and Japan on May 1. Disputes between the corporate parties are settled and both nations are, by terms of the pact, allowed to nominate up to three new carriers to fly the Pacific. In addition to Japan Air Lines Company, Ltd. (2), the Japanese government appoints ANA and Nippon Cargo to join in the over-ocean competition.
Six-times-per-week scheduled services to open from Tokyo (NRT) to New York (JFK) via San Francisco on May 8. A third B-747-281F arrives on October 15.
Beginning on April 1, 1986, the company is allowed to increase its frequencies each year by a percentage equal to the percentage increase in total air cargo traffic between Japan and America in the preceding calendar year. Thus, early in the year, services over the New York route grow to eight per week.
In October 1987, company officials report that 537 million FTKs have been flown since January, up 61.8% from a year earlier. Weekly B-747-281F scheduled return services are inaugurated on October 5 between Tokyo (NRT) and Singapore. Over the next seven years, the carrier adds additional destinations to its route network, including Amsterdam, Anchorage, Bangkok, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan, Nagoya, and Seoul. Occasional charters are also flown.
The 481-employee continues to operate apace in 1988, with a fleet doubled in number to two owned and two chartered B-747-281Fs, with the arrival of the fourth Jumbojet freighter on January 27. Weekly B-747-281F flights are inaugurated in cooperation with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) from Tokyo to Amsterdam on June 7.
The company makes history in the fall when it delivers the first ever approved-before-arrival customs releases on a U. S.-bound international shipment to an airfreight broker and bonded warehouse 10 hours before the actual cargo arrives. Developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the automated system is known as Air Cargo Fast Flow.
Weekly all-cargo service is inaugurated in November 1989 between Tokyo and Bangkok.
Traffic figures are released for the first 9 months of the year and show that cargo has rise 18.3% over the same period a year earlier, to 619.56 million FTKs.
Company employment is increased by 10.6% in 1990 to 532. All-cargo services from Tokyo to Bangkok are initiated in January and a new air cargo terminal is completed at Chicago in the fall. Four-times-per-week Tokyo (NRT) to Chicago (ORD) freight flights commence in October and a fifth B-747-281F joins the fleet in November. Los Angeles is added to the route network from Tokyo to New York via San Francisco in December.
For the year, freight traffic climbs to 773.57 million FTKs. Income exceeds expenses and there are profits: $11.16 million (operating) and $17.7 million (net).
Company employment is increased by 5.3% in 1991 to 576 and the fleet now includes 2 owned and 3 leased B-747-281Fs. Employing the newest Jumbo freighter, the company begins thrice-weekly all-cargo service in March from Tokyo to Chicago. A thrice-weekly Los Angeles to Tokyo all-cargo route is opened in May, along with one from San Francisco. When the last B-747-281F is delivered in December, it marks the end of Boeing’s 21-year production run of Dash-200s, of which 393 are built.
Cargo accelerates 4.5% to 985 million FTKs. Revenues increase 16.3% to $349.8 million; however, with costs up, operating profit declines to $4.88 million. Net profit plunges all the way to $180,000.
In 1992, Chairman Takeo Hori’s employee population is increased by 15.1% to 665 and his fleet now includes 6 B-747-281Fs, 4 of which are leased.
Statistics are provided during the first 7 months and show freight traffic up a minor 0.1% to 604.54 million FTKs.
The payroll grows by 1.9% in 1993 to 678 and in January a twice-weekly joint freight operation with Alitalia, S. p.A. commences over a route from Tokyo (NRT) via Amsterdam to Milan.
Cargo increases a welcome 14.8% to 1.27 billion FTKs. A net loss of $68l.1 million comes on top of an operating gain of $43.8 million.
The loss leads to a new cost-cutting program, introduced in February 1994, designed to save upwards of $22.9 million per year. Under its terms, aircraft-lease-rate reductions are to be negotiated, some aircraft will be retired, and cooperation with ANA will be increased. During the year, the workforce is reduced by 5.4% to 615; however, a joint agreement is initialed with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) that provides for joint freight operation over a route from Tokyo (NRT) to Amsterdam.
A new warehouse is opened at New York (JFK) and twice-weekly return cargo flights begin from Tokyo (NRT) and Osaka (KIX) to Kuala Lumpur in October. Both new services also visit Bangkok and Singapore. Work is begun on a new Los Angeles cargo facility.
Freight traffic rises 12.6% to 1.45 billion ton kilometers and revenues accelerate 6.9% to $394.3 million. Although a $60.5-million operating profit is reported, there is a net downturn of $48.5 million.
Airline employment grows by 8.9% during 1995 to 670. The Los Angeles (LAX) facility is completed and cargo carriage increased to 1.57 billion FTKs.
Up one year and down the next, the workforce is reduced by 25.2% in 1996 to 501 and the fleet now includes 6 B-747-281Fs, 4 of which are leased, plus 1 B-747SR-81F.
In February, a basic agreement is reached with UPS (United Parcel Service) concerning distribution possibilities. As NCA works with cargo and UPS with parcels, their operations do not directly cross. However, NCA will, under the agreement, be able to employ the UPS U. S. domestic trucking network to provide a direct delivery service.
After several years of sometimes-bitter negotiations between Japan and the U. S., a new cargo agreement is signed between the governments of those two nations on April 16. Under its terms, NCA is allowed 18 additional weekly frequencies to the U. S. as well as 3 new destinations.
Designed to help them both fill capacity on eastbound transpacific freighters, Nippon and Northwest Airlines sign an interline agreement on June 1. Under its terms, each carrier, which now operates two weekly B-747-281F flights between Osaka (KIX) and Chicago (ORD), will have access to the other’s two flights on the same routes. The arrangement is similar to an earlier interline agreement that the two have between Tokyo (NRT) and the airports in Seoul, Taipei, and Singapore.
An agreement is also reached with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) during the first week of June for a joint-cargo B-747Fs service between Osaka and Chicago. In October, six-times-a-week code-sharing flights commence from Osaka via Taipei to Los Angeles with UPS (United Parcel Service). UPS had been awarded the route in April at the conclusion of bilateral talks between Japan and the U. S. Nippon is guaranteed four maindeck pallet positions on the UPS B-767-34AFER.
A total of 1.61 billion FTKs are operated, a 3.5% increase. Revenues total $489.8 million.
Destinations visited in 1997 include Amsterdam, Anchorage, Bangkok, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan, Nagoya, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, and Singapore. Flights to Manila begin in early March.
During the spring, the carrier begins to transport large volumes of salmon from Chile to Japan, even though Nippon does not serve the South American country. The fish are brought to Los Angeles (LAX) by Lan Chile Airlines, S. A. and Fast Air Chile, S. A. and transshipped.
An eighth B-747F joins the fleet during the summer.
A third B-747-281F roundtrip is begun on September 12 between Osaka and Kuala Lumpur. A total of 1.81 billion FTKs are flown on the year and income is boosted to $528.1 million.
At the beginning of 1998, Nippon Cargo is the 19th largest airline in the world, in terms of freight carried. The fleet now includes 1 each B-747-100SRF and B-747-200SF plus 6 B-747-200Fs. Cargo traffic accelerates by 5.7% this year, with 1.96 billion FTKs operated.
Airline employment stands at 630 at the beginning of 1999. Freight traffic for the year jumps 12.9% to 2,215,933,000 FTKs.
Among the world’s top 25 airlines in 2000, Nippon Cargo ranks 17t
World History
