Emirates marks 15th anniversary in Nigeria

…Spices up local menus on board

Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo

In keeping with its onboard food philosophy to offer customers a menu that reflects both local flavours and international cuisines, Nigerian travellers can now look forward to their favourite meals while on board the airline, such as Jollof Rice, Beef Stew Porridge yam, Braised Chicken thighs, Rice with black-eyed beans, Fried plantain, Sautéed Spinach, Sweet Potato Mash, and Chicken stew.

This is coming in its 15th year of operation in Nigeria, to reinforce its commitment to Nigerians travellers. The airline says is committed to making their travellers all over the world fly better with a variety of interesting and regional cuisines made by an extremely talented chef from different nationalities.

Nigerian travellers are now faced with the opportunity to savour delicious meals and beverages onboard. Young adventurers are not left out in the new meals introduced onboard for Nigerians.

Children the airline says, can also enjoy the newly introduced meals introduced onboard for their satisfaction.

It also marks its 15th year of successful operations in Nigeria with the launch of a pan-African brand the advertising campaign that celebrated the talent and achievements of young Africans, taking the message of ‘New Africa’ to the world.

Emirates paid tribute to a new generation of African disrupters who are making their mark globally across music, fashion, literature and the arts. The campaign included Nigeria’s very own Abiola Oke, CEO and Publisher of OkayAfrica – a digital media platform.

The Regional Manager West Africa, Afzal Parambil, “Emirates has enjoyed a strong relationship with Nigeria, and remains deeply committed to the market. Over the past 15 years, we have not only seen our operations grow, but our product development to cater to the taste and requirements of our Nigerian customers.

We constantly strive to provide our passengers with unforgettable travel experience, and our growth is a testament to the fact that we are on the right track.”

The airline commenced operations 15 years ago to Lagos on January 2nd 2004, a key gateway to West Africa, with four flights per week from Dubai to Lagos linked with Accra in Ghana, operated by the A330-200 aircraft.

The following year, Emirates increased its services from four to six flights a week, and following further demand, it became a daily operation in October 2005.

The airline has seen steady growth in operations, and on 1 January 2006, Lagos was delinked from Accra and became a direct service to Dubai. Emirates started its second daily service to Lagos in February 2009.

Since its first flight, Emirates has flown millions of passengers on the popular Nigerian route and has become the airline of choice for both premium and value-conscious Nigerian travellers.

In response to growing demand, Emirates launched services to Abuja in 2014, 10 years after its inaugural flight to Nigeria. Emirates now operates a double daily service to Lagos with the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which offers eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class.

The airline operates four weekly flights to the Nigerian capital, Abuja, set to become daily from 1 June 2019.