Following several reactions that have trailed the unveiling of a new national carrier recently in London, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has said extensive market research was embarked upon before the name was arrived at.
Several Nigerians have reacted to the name of the national carrier on social media, saying that the name was not well considered.
But Hadi, in his justification, said that the branding and naming of the new national carrier came after a social media campaign that was undertaken by the Ministry of Transportation (Aviation) asking the youth to suggest a name for the carrier.
He maintained that extensive market research was carried out, which involved focus groups across the country, and over 100 interviews with aviation stakeholders and professionals, politicians, as well as business owners.
“I am very pleased to tell you that we are finally on track to launching a new national flag carrier, Nigeria Air, for our country. We are all fully committed to fulfilling the campaign promise made by our President, Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015. We are aiming to launch Nigeria Air by the end of this year.
“We obtained the Certificate of Compliance from the Nigerian Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission two weeks ago and can now go into the investor search. I am confident that we will have a well-run national flag carrier that is a global player, compliant with international safety standards and one which has the customer at heart.
“We hope to establish an airline that communicates the essence of our beautiful country; an airline we can all be proud of,” Sirika said.
Meanwhile, the minister also stated that the Federal Government selected 81 routes for the commencement of operation of Nigeria Air. According to him, the airline will operate 40 domestic, regional and sub-regional routes, and 41 international routes.
He added that the airline would operate on a Public-Private Partnership model, while investors and strategic partners would decide who would run it.
The Federal Government, at the Farnborough Airshow in London, had unveiled the name of its new national carrier, as Nigeria Air. The carrier, branded with the Nigeria’s colours – green and white – has the coat of arms crested on it with the inscription, ‘’Bringing Nigeria closer to the world.”
