Patrick Quayle addressed the crowd for the Lagos launch. Photo: Jay Singh | Simple Flying |
The flight will operate three times per week from the
carrier’s Dulles hub on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The airline has
scheduled its flights to run on 243-seat Boeing 787-8s. These planes feature 28
of the airline’s newest Polaris lie-flat hard product. There are also 21
premium economy seats onboard.
United also offers two economy products on this plane: 36
extra-legroom economy seats and 158 standard economy seats. Polaris is in a
1-2-1 configuration, giving all passengers direct aisle access. Premium
economy, which is similar to a domestic recliner-style first class cabin, is in
a 2-3-2 configuration. Lastly, the economy cabin is in a 3-3-3 configuration.
According to data from RadarBox.com, the flight took off
from IAD at 19:02. At the time of writing, the aircraft was expected to land in
Lagos at 10:48 (all times local). This works out to a flight time of just under
ten hours.
A celebratory mood
At gate C1 in IAD, the mood was quite celebratory. As is
traditional with long-haul international route launches, United organized a
traditional performance filled with song and dance. Several passengers even got
involved, turning the gate area around C1 into a festive preflight celebration.
There were then several speeches commemorating the launch.
In attendance was Patrick Quayle, Senior Vice President, International Network
and Alliances, at United Airlines.
Mr. Quayle leads the team that put this route on the map. He
cast the expansion as part of United’s broader moves in Africa. The airline
inaugurated flights to Accra and Johannesburg earlier this year, which were
also announced at the same time as Lagos. Flights to Cape Town will resume on
December 1st.
Strategically, adding this route from Dulles also enables
connections across the airline’s network. He stated the following on the
connecting aspect:
“This is a fantastic hub because in this bank, we can connect more than 80 cities. 80 different cities across the United States and Canada can come in here and now have one-stop service to Lagos. On top of that, there is a huge market in the greater Washington area, as well as the Nigerian embassy right here in Washington D.C. So this is a quick, easy way to get home to Nigeria.”
Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Uzoma
Emenike, was also in attendance and celebrated the launch. She highlighted the
strong business ties between the United States and Nigeria and the importance
of this service for government business.
More opportunities to grow
United Airlines is only operating three weekly services
between Washington D.C. and Lagos. This was the same frequency the airline
initially offered to Accra, Ghana, when it launched the route early this year
from IAD. Now, Accra is moving to daily services around the winter holidays and
then will be permanently upgraded to daily service next summer.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Uzoma Emenike, speaks at Dulles at the event commemorating the launch of a new service to Lagos on United Airlines. Photo: Jay Singh | Simple Flying |
United Airlines could undoubtedly continue to grow. The enthusiasm and load on the flight to Lagos indicate that the route could be a long-term success on an aircraft as efficient as the Boeing 787-8. One of the more immediate ways United could grow would be to add more frequencies, perhaps bringing Lagos up to daily service if flights work well. Another way could be for United to expand service to Lagos from another hub.
Delta Air Lines also flies to Lagos from the United States.
It operates daily flights from its hub in Atlanta. It has also offered three
weekly flights from New York to Lagos, making United the second airline and
third route to Nigeria.
The Ambassador certainly welcomed the potential for new
services. She stated:
“United Airlines, we wish in the near future that you consider the inclusion of other cities, such as Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano.”
Kano, Abuja, and Port Harcourt are major cities in the
country. Abuja, the Ambassador’s personal favorite for a new flight to the
United States, given that it is the capital of the country and she has to
travel often for official government business to Abuja. United does not
currently serve Abuja, nor has it announced any intention to serve the capital
city.
Africa is a growing air market. Nonstop flights between the
US and Africa are relatively slim, and no Nigerian airline flies to the US from
Nigeria. Delta and United are also the only two US airlines serving Africa.
United’s Star Alliance partner, Ethiopian Airlines, has the most extensive
portfolio of services between the US and Africa, though due to the geography of
its hub in Addis Ababa, a decent number of its services are one-stop
operations. Nevertheless, the airline still has a large share of traffic.
United Airlines has added three new routes to the continent
this year. When Cape Town resumes, it will have four routes to Africa from the
US, although Cape Town operates seasonally. Africa does suffer from some
structural issues, including limited infrastructure links. African airlines
have also had difficulties remaining profitable and growing out large
connecting hubs like airports in Europe, Asia, and North America have done.
Foreign airlines are typically some of the most important
ones for getting passengers to and from Africa. Before United launched this
nonstop service, it would route its passengers to Lagos via a connection, often
in Europe. The new nonstop will shave off a significant amount of time on
flying between Washington D.C. and Lagos.
With this route finally launched, the airline has reached a
new milestone in its Africa network. Though it is not the first time the
airline has served Nigeria, it is abundantly confident that it has the right
mix of route, aircraft, and frequency to make it work, and more could come.
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