By Adekunle Williams
Green Africa has disclosed it recorded 90.71 per cent On-Time Performance (OTP) on its departures out of the 3,404 flights the airline operated from March to November 2022.
The airline’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr Babawande Afolabi confirmed the development in a statement issued by the airline’s Brand Marketing Specialist, Ms Omolara Kehinde in Lagos on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that On-Time Performance (OTP) in aviation is measured as a percentage of scheduled flights that departed at the published time plus a 15-minute buffer.
NAN recalls that Green Africa is a new airline, which started operations in August 2021.
Afolabi explained that out of the 183 departures of Flight Q9 300 during a six months period of June to November 2022, its flight left on time approximately 166 times, which translated to an on-time performance of 90.71 per cent.
He said the Lagos-Port Harcourt flight Q9 322 enjoyed OTP of over 90 per cent.
According to him, passengers on the Lagos-Ilorin-Abuja (Flight Q9 304/305/311/312), Akure-Abuja (Flight Q9 315/316), and Benin-Abuja (Flight Q9 313/314) could also count on their flights leaving on time, almost every time.
The airline’s chief said this was the highest reported OTP recorded in the Nigeria’s aviation industry during the period, thus earning the new airline the title of “Nigeria’s New King of OTP”.
According to him, this achievement has quietly earned the airline’s place as a top player in delivering on-time and reliable services to our customers.
“This is also remarkable even by global standards and especially noteworthy considering some of the unique challenges airlines face in the region, including fuel shortages and infrastructure limitations.
“This achievement is coming where many customers usually have a “Plan B” when booking their flights due to disruptions as most airlines delay flights frequently.
“However, with this achievement, the airline has displayed efficiency in the face of some of the peculiar challenges facing the airline industry in the region,
“This means the airline can now be described as ‘a value carrier’ that is arguably the most affordable airline in Nigeria today,” he said.
Afolabi said a closer look at the airline’s OTP on a route-by-route basis also showed some industry leading figures.
He noted that the Lagos-Abuja flight Q9 300 was Green Africa’s first flight in the morning, adding that the flight, which currently departed at 5.50 a.m., had become quite popular for passengers who need to be in Abuja early in the morning.
Afolabi added that due to the airline’s on-time departure, the flght was for passengers that want to avoid the additional cost of booking a hotel room for an overnight stay.
The airline’s chief also highlighted some challenges that the airline had faced since its inception in 2021 and how they were surmounted.
He said the value carrier, which had a very strong start operationally soon had to contend with its own fair share of challenges like every new company.
Afolabi said some of the issues in its early days were around refunds due to flight cancellations and poor market understanding of its unbundled products and no-frill model.
He said: “Green Africa, in response, regrouped and as stated in the first year gVersary email to customers, quickly made some key adjustments.
“All refunds were cleared, and the network was revamped to build in additional buffers to better manage operational disruptions.
“A more targeted campaign was done to educate customers about its products, and customers have now come to appreciate the freedom to only pay for what they need on a flight.”
Afolabi said with the airline’s unbundled model, passengers could now fly at least 25 per cent cheaper than the average fares in the market, especially if they book early enough. (NAN)