Does Nigeria’s Azman Air offer the most exclusive Airbus A340 business class?

Azman Air’s two-seat on an A340-600 aircraft acquired from Virgin Atlantic, which it planned international flights with to Dubai, Jeddah, and China, has a unique seating configuration with its two central business class seats that have no curtains separating economy and business classes, has raised interest about whether it is the most exclusive business class in the world. It is in Nigeria, surely, per this culled story from Simple Flying.

When you travel, do you book economy or business class? While seats up the front are very sought after, the experience can vary with different service expectations from carriers worldwide. This can be dictated by the types of products used and the overall size of the cabin itself. When it comes to booking the most ‘exclusive’ and private business class seat, many may not think that Nigerian carrier Azman Air would be the airline that would first come to mind.

Azman Air operates what could be considered the most exclusive business class. Its Airbus A340-600, an aircraft it acquired from Virgin Atlantic, offers just two business class seats onboard, leaving room for 411 economy seats. Azman Air was established in 2010 by Nigerian businessman Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina. It operates domestic passenger services from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (KAN) in Kano.

Established in 2010, the airline first began commercial operations in 2014, with a service between Kano and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (ABV), Abuja, the federal capital of the African nation of Nigeria. Initially operating international and domestic routes with two Boeing 737-500, the airline eventually leased an Airbus A330 from Air Leisure (a now-defunct Egyptian charter airline). The airline discontinued its lease of the A330 in February 2020 but acquired the A340 the same year.

Welcoming the Airbus A340

According to data from ch-Aviation, the infamous Airbus A340, now in the hands of Azman, took its maiden flight on August 8, 2006, under Airbus French registration F-WWCK (serial number 765). The aircraft was then delivered to the United Kingdom’s Virgin Atlantic on August 23, 2006, where it was named Emmeline Heany. It was leased from Doric, a German fund manager and aircraft leasing company. While at Virgin Atlantic, it operated under British registration G-VYOU and continued being a back-bone for its international fleet until May 2019, when it was stored.

Azman Air then showed interest in the aircraft after ending its lease of an Airbus A330 and took possession of the aircraft on February 6, 2020, through a lease with Emmeline Flugzeugfonds. Its registration was changed to 5N-AAM. On March 17, 2021, the carrier’s management announced the suspension of all flight services within Nigeria after the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was required to audit the airline’s airworthiness and determine the root causes of previous safety incidents with the carrier. While the aircraft would have hoped to continue in regular service, it was stored again between August 2022 and July 2023.

International aspirations

Azman Air acquired the aircraft with a long-term vision to re-commence international flights, with proposed destinations being Nigeria to Dubai, Jeddah, or China. However, these flights never materialised, and the A340 has seen limited operations, with data from Flightradar24 identifying the carrier flew several Hajj flights to Jeddah earlier this month on behalf of Air Peace.

The aircraft has otherwise hibernated. However, scheduled destinations once included:

• Asaba International Airport, Asaba

• Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport, Birnin Kebbi

• Gombe Lawanti International Airport, Gombe

• Kaduna International Airport, Kaduna

• Maiduguri International Airport, Maiduguri

• Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri

• Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt

• Blaise Diagne International Airport, Dakar

• King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah

The most recent flights operated in July with this aircraft include charters for Air Peace, as below:

Unique seating configuration

Although the aircraft was acquired from Virgin Atlantic, the seating layouts of the two configurations are not similar. Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus A340-600s typically utilise 45 Upper-Class seats, 38 premium seats, and 233 economy seats, bringing the total cabin capacity to 316 seats. Azman Air, however, completely renovated the aircraft’s interior after taking delivery, specifying just two central business class seats.

The two seats are front and centre of the aircraft. While the row directly behind it has a 2-4-2 configuration, the front row has a 2-2-2 configuration. The two business class seats are offered in the middle section. The business class seats use upgraded leather, are wider, and have slightly more legroom than economy seats. There is also no visible separation, such as a curtain, between the economy class and business class that is typically seen.

Some speculate that this configuration was designed to offer specialised seating for VIPs aboard the flight. However, it is still relatively unclear what will happen with the carrier’s future, as the airline has suspended all scheduled operations from last year, with only charter flights using this uniquely configured aircraft.