Branson launches Nigeria air service
Richard Branson’s entry into Nigerian aviation will begin with a London-Lagos service starting later this month, it was announced today.
The first flight of Virgin Nigeria, in which Virgin Atlantic has a 49% stake, will begin on June 28.
The Nigerian-based company will operate twice-weekly services between Lagos and Heathrow for the first two weeks, rising to three flights a week after that.
Tickets for the new service went on sale today. The return fare for the first flight to London and back will be less than £500 (€750) and after that the economy return fare will be less than £700 (€1,050).
Virgin chairman Branson said today: “Today is a momentous first step for Virgin Nigeria and we at Virgin are proud to be associated with this new Nigerian company.
“Virgin Nigeria is a fully private sector airline and is already a major employer of some 200 Nigerian staff, which number will rise to almost 1,000 within months.”
