Etihad Airways Expands in Africa With Lagos Link

United Arab Emirates (UAE) national carrier Etihad Airways is to inaugurate flights between Abu Dhabi and Lagos in Nigeria from July 1, 2012, marking its first network expansion into the West African market. The carrier plans to offer a six times weekly service using a two-class Airbus A330-200 configured with 22 Pearl Business Class and 240 Coral Economy Class seats.

The new flight, which remains subject to regulatory approval, will be Etihad’s 83rd destination and the announcement of the route follows shortly after the carrier has expanded its presence in Africa with new links to the Seychelles (from November 2011) and more recently Tripoli, Libya. Etihad will also introduce flights between Abu Dhabi and the Kenyan capital Nairobi from April this year.

“The launch of services to Lagos is consistent with our strategy of targeting areas of strong growth in emerging markets,” said James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways. “The United Arab Emirates is a major trade partner of Nigeria, which has a population of more than 150 million people, the largest in Africa and the seventh biggest in the world.”

Nigeria is rich in natural resources, such as oil and natural gas and the new link will enhance global business connections into the country. Like many od the more developed African countries, Nigeria is also witnessing strong economic growth driven by significant foreign investment, particularly from China, which means there is increasing demand for travel between Lagos and other emerging economies and Etihad will provide network opportunities at Abu Dhabi International Airport to connect to key North and Southeast Asian destinations and markets in the Indian Subcontinent and Australia.

Etihad’s two largest network rivals in the Middle East – Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways – already serve the Nigerian market, while Middle East Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish Airlines (THY) also provide links. Emirates Airline dominates with a double daily offering between Dubai and Lagos, while Qatar Airways offers a daily Doha – Lagos connection.

An estimated 111,000 O&D passengers travelled between Nigeria and the UAE last year, but as the table below illustrates, with a wide global network airlines such as Etihad Airways are not restricted to just point-to-point demand.