Nigerian
passengers have rejected the continued use of the old Boeing 767 plane
deployed on the Lagos-Atlanta route by Delta Airlines.
The plane, which frequently develops
mechanical faults, has caused multiple flight delays and cancellations,
causing the airline’s passengers to have traumatic travel experiences.
Speaking with our correspondent in
separate interviews during the week, the aggrieved passengers rejected
what they described as the “old, problematic and inconvenient plane” on
the Nigerian route.
“We demand the immediate replacement of
this less-dignifying aircraft on the Lagos-Atlantic route. We can no
longer entertain disruptions to our flights,” a legal practitioner and
business class passenger, Mr. Cosmos Nwachukwu, told our correspondent.
“Nigerian
passengers demand better treatment than what Delta Airlines is giving
them on the Lagos-Atlanta route. How do you explain the fact that we pay
more on the Lagos-Atlanta route and still end up getting the old plane
in Delta’s fleet in return for the high fares? There is no equity in
that,” he added.
A frequent flier on the Lagos-Atlanta
route, Mr. Ademola Are, said he had had 11 delays in addition to six
cancellations on Delta, with almost all happening on the Lagos-Atlanta
route.
As a Delta Airlines’ Platinum Elite member, he has flown over 500,000 miles on the carrier’s plane in the last four years.
Are said, “The big problem coming from
the Lagos-Atlanta route, where almost all these delays have occurred,
has to do with the type of aircraft they use. There is a particular
aircraft they use among the Boeing 767 aircraft they have; this aircraft
is prone to mechanical problems.
“I don’t know the extent of mechanical
problems but they have fuel problems, brake problems, hydraulic problems
etc. They mention numerous problems.”
According to him, there are times he has
had to board Lufthansa Airlines on his return flight to Nigeria from the
United States due to flight cancellations by Delta, adding that he
needed to take such a drastic decision in order to keep crucial
appointments.
Are, a hospitality management expert, who
has held senior executive positions in top international hotels,
including Marriot International, Hilton Hotels and Legacy Vacations,
called on Delta to heed its numerous passengers’ request by replacing
the problematic Boeing 767 aircraft with better planes such as the
Boeing 777ER or Airbus A330-300 with immediate effect.
He said, “But most importantly, when you
look at the revenue per mile flown, Atlanta-Lagos is Delta’s
most-profitable route. So, the question is if you are talking of equity,
when you have the worst aircraft in terms of cabin layout, service,
performance, most delays and most cancellations, you charge the
passenger more than what you are charging on other routes. It is not
fair. It is not equitable.
“They have Airbus 330-300, which they use
on other routes; Boeing 777-300ER, which they use on other routes,
whether it is Atlanta-London, Atlanta-Paris, Atlanta-Tel Aviv or
Atlanta-Rome. But they use older and less quality aircraft on the Lagos
route.
Are, who is currently the Chief Executive
Officer, Kakanfo Inn and Conference Centre, an Ibadan-based upscale
hotel, scored the US carrier low in its services, including in-flight
menu on the Nigerian route.
“There have been complaints about the
breakfast. Delta has served the same breakfast for six years. You have
these dried-up, heated and hard loaves of bread with meat inside. It is
like a Latinos meat pie. They need to have some kinds of varieties,” he
added.
An aviation expert and Chief Executive
Officer, Centurion Security and Safety Consult, Group Captain John
Ojikutu (retd), who is also a Delta passenger, believes the Nigerian
Civil Aviation Authority needs to compel the US carrier to replace the
old Boeing 767 aircraft immediately.
He said, “Nigerians don’t deserve this
treatment with the high fares we are paying. I don’t know why the
Ministry of Aviation and the NCAA will allow Delta do this. They should
not have allowed this in the first instance; the agreement specifies the
type of aircraft to be used.”
Some Nigerian passengers had recently complained of frequent disruptions to Delta flights on the Lagos-Atlanta route.
Some of the passengers, who spoke to our
correspondent at the MMIA, included the Chairman of University Press
Plc, Dr. Lekan Are.
He told our correspondent how he and a
Professor of English at the University of New Orleans, USA, Dr. Niyi
Osundare, had written to the CEO of Delta Airlines, Mr. Richard
Anderson, to express their displeasure over the frequent flight
disruptions on the Lagos-Atlanta route.
They had also requested Delta to replace
the Boeing 767 plane, which was the major cause of the frequent travel
disruptions on the route.
Dr. Lekan Are, however, said that the carrier had yet to address the request to replace the plane.
Speaking to our correspondent on the
development, he said, “First of all, I want to thank you for the good
coverage you gave when you interviewed me and some other passengers of
Delta Airlines at Lagos Airport on March 30. Since that time, when
people read it on the Internet, people contacted me — Nigerians in the
Diaspora.
“One of them, Prof. Niyi Osundare, who is
a distinguished Professor of English at the University of New Orleans,
felt that Delta might not be aware of these complaints because it was
only read in Nigerian newspapers.
“So, on the basis of that, Prof. Osundare
and I got together, and on April 23, we wrote a letter of appeal or
petition to Mr. Richard Anderson, the CEO of Delta Airlines. And he was
kind enough after about three weeks, on May 14 to be precise, he got one
of his top officials, Mr. Gina Rubino, to attend to our observation and
they wrote us a reply.
“Well, in the reply, they said it must
have been frustrating to have repeated flight disruptions. But they
assured us that they take good care of their planes because they go
through regular maintenance and that their first priority is our safety
as passengers. But they did not address part of the plea, the essential
thing. And part of the plea is that they are using old aircraft on this
Lagos route, which they don’t use on the transatlantic routes.
Fortunately, I went on Delta Airlines flight to London from Detroit on
May 16; it was a brand new plane.
“I have experienced cancellations five
times on Delta Airlines. If that happens two times on the European-US
routes, they wouldn’t get passengers again. And so, we are pleading that
when they started flights on the Nigerian route, they even used the
Boeing 777 plane, they should revert to that. It has longer range and of
course it is a newer plane. They should stop sending this old plane.
“Why are they short-changing on this
route? So they should not wait for a disaster to happen before they will
now say we are addressing this thing. This is why we are crying out.
Because, in fact, after what happened on March 29 when we left here at
10pm and came back 2am, the very next Saturday, April 4, the Delta
flight left here again only to return to Lagos at 2am. It was the same
aircraft. If they are being very well maintained, they should not have
disruptions so often. If it is only once in a year, that is
understandable. But this time now, you are having two disruptions in a
week. There must have been more between that time and now.”
When contacted, the General Manager,
Public Affairs, NCAA, Mr. Fan Udubuoke, said the regulator was aware of
the disruptions, including that of March 29, and had met with Delta over
the development.
He said Delta had promised to address the issue but did not specify whether the US carrier would replace the plane or not.
When contacted by our correspondent, Delta Airlines said it regretted the disruptions.
While arguing that it was not
discriminating against Nigerian passengers in its service offerings, the
airline said most of the delays were caused by unavoidable factors.
A statement by Delta’s Commercial
Director, East and West Africa, Bobby Bryan, read in part, “We’ve
listened to our customers and have made adjustments to the services we
offer, both on the ground and in the air, such as a generous baggage
allowance and special services on the ground. We have also adapted our
on board meal offerings to better suit the preferences of customers
flying to and from Nigeria.
“Delta has an impeccable safety record
for its operations worldwide, including those in Nigeria. When delays
occur, Delta deeply regrets the inconvenience this causes to passengers’
journeys when they are flying with us. Such is Delta’s commitment to
Nigeria that during the recent fuel shortages at the airport, we put
contingency measures in place to refuel in either Accra or Dakar in
order to maintain our Lagos operations.
“We know that people’s time is valuable,
whether their travel is for business or for pleasure, and operating on
schedule is equally as important to Delta. However, these delays
currently caused by these refuelling stops cannot be avoided.
“On occasions, other external factors can
cause unavoidable disruptions to our service such as changing weather
patterns or mechanical faults. In these instances, we may need to make
operational decisions that affect our service, because Delta will not
compromise on the safety or security of our passengers and crew. We
realise that this can cause regrettable delays to our customers’
journeys; however, the safety and security of our passengers and crew
remains our number one priority.”
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