New Emirates Regional Manager, Afzal Parambil, has described Nigerian aviation market as exciting even as the airlines has opened new routes.
Specifically, after a stormy operational regime, occasioned by the harsh economic realities in Nigeria, Emirates Airlines, which has operated for a decade in the country, has added another route, Guangzhou, China, to its schedule with a view to increasing its customer base in Nigeria.
Speaking during a media chat, Parambil described the Nigerian market as exciting, adding “what makes it interesting is that apart from businessmen, some families go to China and some far east countries for leisure. This has increased the volume of traffic to China and the far east.”
The airline has commenced flights from Dubai to the Chinese city of Guangzhou, a manufacturing town and business hub, common to most Nigerian importers. With the new flight schedule, Nigerians wishing to fly to China will find it easier with just one stop over in Dubai before going to their final destination.
“Apart from Guangzhou, the airline had a good spread in a number of Asian capitals and cities. Our network in Asia including China is extensive. We fly to over 20 destinations in 13 countries, some of which include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Yinchuan, Zhengzhou, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, and many others.”
He said with a fleet of over 300 planes made up of 97 A380s and 165 B777s in service, the airline remains the most competitive among its contemporaries and commands a lot of respect among its customers.