How to Make Local Airlines World-class Carriers

Unless designated Nigerian carriers on the international routes pull resources to float bigger and viable airlines, they may never match the ingenuity of contemporary world class airlines making inroads into the country’s evolving travel industry. MANNY PHILIPSON reports
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Local Airlines Process 25,000 Daily Flights

Stories by Manny Philipson

An average of 24, 740 passengers travel daily in the country’s nine schedule airlines covering 17 out of the 21 domestic airports, a study has revealed. >> Full Story

Emirates Assigns A380 on New York Route

Emirates, the biggest customer for the Airbus A380 superjumbo, will operate its first flight with the plane from Dubai to New York on August 1, it was announced yesterday. >> Full Story

Travel, Tourism Professionals Dread e-ticketing

Thousands of workers in travel and tourism agencies in the Saudi Arabia Kingdom fear that they would lose their jobs now that the issuance of paper tickets is no longer an option with airlines worldwide fully shifting to the electronic ticketing system from today. >> Full Story

Missing Aircraft: Natca Cautions against Unguarded Comments

By Ekwutosi Ewulu

Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (Natca) has cautioned over alleged unprofessional commentaries being made by some self styled aviation experts, some of which they alleged had misled the Nigerian public about the missing aircraft. >> Full Story

Travel Professionals Harp on Billing Plans

Business travel management professionals from Lagos and throughout Nigeria recently conducted a series of candid and high-level talks regarding the recent Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) developments in the region. >> Full Story

Audi Achieves Record Sales Worldwide

Stories by Manny Philipson

AUDI AG sold more than 426,200 vehicles worldwide from January to May, an increase of 1.5 percent. In the month of May, Audi increased sales to 88,200 vehicles, up an additional 0.8 percent versus the strong prior-year month. The strongest growth drivers were once again the Asia/Pacific and Eastern Europe regions.  >> Full Story

Volkswagen Unveils VW Passat CC

Volkswagen officially took the wraps off the Passat CC (four-door coupe) in Detroit earlier this year. VW expects approximately 60 percent of the sales of the CC. Volkswagen dropped the “Passat” portion of the name) to come from the US. >> Full Story

Kia Sorento Beats Hummer, Wins Satisfaction Award

The 2008 Kia Sorento is the top ranking midsize SUV in AutoPacific, 2008 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA) of the U.S. The award is an industry benchmark for objectively measuring owner satisfaction of new vehicles. In this competitive segment, Sorento received a higher rating than the Hummer H3, Jeep Liberty, Dodge Nitro and Nissan Xterra. >> Full Story

Kia cee’d Surpasses 200,000 Units’ Landmark

Managers and staff at Kia’s vehicle manufacturing facility at Zilina in Slovakia celebrated another historic landmark when the 200,000th Kia cee’d was driven off the final assembly line on Friday 23 May.
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e-Tourism workshop Holds in Abuja

Stories by Lucky George

Tourism stakeholders will seek ways of charting developmental frontiers for the industry even as the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation in collaboration with e-Tourism Limited, conclude plans to hold a two-day National Tourism Workshop on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th June in Abuja. >> Full Story

Bellview Flies to 15 Destinations

In a bid to address the impression given in the Business Travel news story -referred- that Bellview operate flights to 3 destinations, the airline’s corporate affairs office issued a statement to set the record straight on correct size and reach of its operations. >> Full Story

MMA2 Affirms Commitment to Maintaining Global Standards

The management of the new world class terminal, Murtala Muhammed Airport Domestic Terminal 2 (MMA2), Bi- Courtney Aviation Services, has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining and upholding global standards in its car parking and security operations. >> Full Story

British Airways Retains Awards, Earns another

British Airways was awarded Best Business Class and Best Trans-Atlantic Airline during the 2008 Official Airline Guide Awards held at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London, UK earlier this month. >> Full Story

UNWTO Secretary General To Step down Next Year

The Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is to step down at the beginning of 2008. Frangialli made this known while addressing the Executive Council of the UNWTO in Jeju Island, >> Full Story