04 April 08

VIRGIN NIGERIA GETS U.S APPROVAL TO BEGIN DIRECT FLIGHTS INTO THE USA

Lagos, Nigeria: 04 April 2008: Virgin Nigeria has today been granted approval by the United States Department of Transportation to commence direct commercial flights from Lagos to various destinations in America.

Signed by the Director Office of International Aviation, Mr. Paul Gretch, the approval confirms that Virgin Nigeria Airways Limited (Virgin Nigeria) has formally been granted the foreign air carrier permit and is financially and operationally qualified to perform the services authorized.

The Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Nigeria, Mr. Conrad Clifford described the approval for the commencement of direct flights to America as a boost for the Nigerian aviation industry as a whole.

“Our commitment to fulfill the ‘American dream’ of our transatlantic Customers has today come to fruition and in a few months time, we will unveil our blueprint for the operations into the USA” Clifford said.

He also noted that prior to now, Virgin Nigeria had gone into partnership with a marketing company, Discover the World to sell Virgin Nigeria in the United States as well as its existing interline agreements which it had been using to connect passengers on the American route.

This approval is based on the open skies agreement between Nigeria and the US to operate non-stop flights between both countries.

Virgin Nigeria has since December 2005 filed an application with the US Department of Transport to provide scheduled passenger air transportation between the United States and Nigeria and has vigorously pursued the process in the last two and half years.


About Virgin Nigeria

Virgin Nigeria is Nigeria's private sector flag carrier, 51% owned by Nigerian institutional investors and 49% owned by Virgin Atlantic. The airline was formed in September 2004 when the Federal Government of Nigeria announced the selection of Virgin Atlantic Airways as the strategic investor and technical partner in this exciting project. With the mission of being a World Class Airline from the heart of Africa, Virgin Nigeria, has steadily developed a global network that serves domestic, regional and international routes from its operational hub at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

With a focus on improving the Customer’s Experience, Virgin Nigeria constantly develops innovative products for the Customer‘s Convenience. Some of these product innovations include the online booking and payment system which allows the Customer book from anywhere in world and make payments with an Interswitch debit card for people in Nigeria and most international credit and debit cards for persons in London.
 
At the just concluded Dubai Air Show, Virgin Nigeria announced an order for 24 Embraer aircraft. The order consists of E170s and E190s jets. Delivery of the first aircraft is scheduled for September 2008.

For more information, visit www.virginnigeria.com