…airline to provide aircraft for Abuja-Kaduna air Shuttle
Posted by Sade Williams
As part of plans to support the growth of new regional air connectivity in Nigeria and West African region, Quorum Aviation Limited, a fast-growing Nigerian airline and 328 Support Services, a United States of America based company, on Monday signed a strategic partnership deal worth $2b.
Part of the fall out of the agreement, which is expected to provide the basis for a new chapter in Nigerian aviation, unveiled the first part of the project in late 2019, which is to supply aircraft for Quorum Aviation Abuja-Kaduna air shuttle service.
328 Support Services GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is the type certificate holder of the Dornier 328 aircraft.
The deal also provides opportunity to Quorum to be engaged in the selling of Dornier 328 aircraft in Nigeria and West Africa apart from the setting up of aircraft maintenance centre, among other aviation related services in the country.
Speaking in Lagos after both firms inked a deal in Lagos, Founder and Managing Director of Quorum Aviation Limited, Mr. Lukman Abiola Lawal, said his firm had been planning to partner with the right aircraft manufacturer over many years and felt now was the right time to connect more cities and towns and with potential of Dornier 328 aircraft which he said is the right aircraft for its niche market.
According to him, “The investment that this strategic partnership will drive and bring to Nigeria aviation and indeed West African region is massive; aircraft, parts, maintenance, training plus the potential to build an internationally recognized MRO to provide regional support for the expected growth of the re-energised Dornier 328 programme is very exciting especially as the company approaches the start of the next generation Dornier aircraft”.
“While the cooperation agreement involves the acquisition of aircraft, the other aspects and potentials of this cooperation agreement is very positive for Nigeria and Africa aviation and we look forward to sharing more details as we execute the plan’, he added.
Dave Jackson, Managing Director of 328 Support Services, described Nigeria an ideal place for the services provided by his D328, adding, ‘We look forward to working with Quorum aviation Ltd to deliver a quality product to the Nigerian people, the expansion of our fleet base there, where we already have a number of D328 aircraft and the commitment and vision shown by Quorum Aviation is a very exciting project for us’.
President, Aviation Round Table (ART), Dr. Gbenga Olowo disclosed that aviation can only grow through strategic partnership, admitting that it does not make sense for the Federal Government to continue to waste scarce resources in the provision of infrastructure when the private sector is eager and willing to make huge investments in the sector.
He stated that he was excited with the confidence 328 had shown in the country by bringing in their airplanes into the country’s economy.
He lauded the management of Quorum aviation for persevering for more than seven years to bring the new investment to fruition despite the challenging aviation environment.
328 Support Services offers a broad spectrum of services to the airline industry while Quorum aviation Limited, a burgeoning privately held Nigerian aviation and Logistics firm, primarily focuses on Rotary operations but recently extended its operations to Fixed Wings with a focus on providing air shuttle service using regional aircraft in the sub-100 seater category.
