• Commercial service for A220 began April 29

Business a.m. Reporter, with wire report

The deployment of Ibom Air’s brand new Airbus A220-300 into commercial service on April 29 marked the beginning of the subnational government-owned airline’s journey to recouping the money spent acquiring the aircraft. The deployed aircraft is the first to be delivered out of 10 ordered by the airline.

Ambitious Ibom Air had put in place a five-year growth plan to be executed by the management of the carrier which received its Air Operator’s Certificate in May 2019 and took to the skies on June 7, 2019.

The growth plan saw the airline position itself for domestic and regional operations by making a firm order for 10 Airbus A220-300.

The order was made with Airbus in 2021, two years after Ibom Air was founded in what analysts saw as it setting its sight on being known as a world-class African regional airline. The delivery of one A220-300 added to the five Bombardier CRJ900s the airline operates, which enables it to now fly to seven destinations.

Available information shows the airline also flies to Accra, its first international destination, which it introduced in October 2023. It joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA) last year, too.

The deployment of the aircraft by Ibom Air took a while, especially because the A220 arrived at the airline’s base in Uyo, from Airbus on December 8 last year. The new aircraft has registration 5N-CDA and arrived from Airbus’s facility in Mirabel, Canada.

Details show that the A220’s debut Flight QI515 was  from Uyo Victor Attah International Airport (QUO) to Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS). The flight departed Uyo at 14:00, and arrived in Lagos at 15:15 local time. The new A220 also operates the return flight (QI516) at 16:00 and a third flight (QI517) on the same route at 18:00.

The A220 is a single-aisle aircraft with 120 economy and 12 business class seats. Over the last few months the flights between Uyo and Lagos were operated with the smaller CRJ900s. Now, the airline is expecting the new A220 to deliver more efficiency and an enhanced passenger experience on domestic and regional flights.

Ibom Air’s road to A220 operations

Per Simple Flying, Ibom Air is presently the only Nigerian airline operating an A220-300 with local registration 5N.

But before the deployment of the A220-300, the carrier had operated two A220s wet leased from Egyptair and had done so for up to a year testing its suitability. Within six months of that trial, the carrier found it to be the right aircraft for its domestic and regional growth plans, which made it go to sign a firm order for ten A220s at the 2021 Dubai Airshow.

According to wire reports, the first delivery had been booked for the first quarter of 2023 but it faced a few months of delay. It was while waiting for the delivery of the new aircraft that the carrier did a wet lease of two Airbus A320-200s with GetJet Airlines in December 2022, which enabled Ibom Air, owned by Akwa Ibom State, to increase its frequencies on various routes and offer passengers more travel options.

In a February 2024 statement, the airline said it was ending all wet leased aircraft operations in preparation for the deployment of its new A220. It was following this that the two A320s, YL-EMU and 9H-GTS, operated their last flights for Ibom Air on February 5 and returned to Vilnius, Lithuania thereafter.

The transition did, however, lead to a reduced flight schedule. George Uriesi, executive director and chief operating officer of the airline, per Simple Flying said:

“We resorted to wet leasing aircraft to meet the growing demand for our product while we worked on our fleet growth programme. Now with these aircraft being delivered, it is time for us to benefit from the significant operating efficiencies and enhanced service the A220-300 brings to the business.”

Ibom Air has made tremendous development in the last five years since its first flight on June 7, 2019. It is owned by Akwa Ibom State Government through the state’s Investment entity, Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKICORP), and it is the only Nigerian subnational government that owns and operates a commercial airline. It made its historical aircraft order with Airbus just two years after it began scheduled operations, signposting its commitment to becoming a world-class African regional airline.

Last year, the carrier also joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA).