Virgin Nigeria migraine

Its becoming more than the odd balls up with Virgin Nigeria. A couple of weeks ago, I had a ticket for the last flight back to Abuja at 7pm. The flight left just after 9.30pm – I was out of the airport in Abuja by 10.45pm – not the best time to travelling on the airport road... Then, this Friday, my 5.15pm flight to Lagos left Abuja airport at 8pm – I was out of the airport by 9.30pm – with only the weakest of apologies on board the flight. Then again, my flight back to Abuja at 2pm yesterday was cancelled, as had been all the earlier flights. There was no chance to get on a later flight as all seats had already been sold (presumably to those whose earlier flights had been cancelled) – the Virgin Nigeria desk at the airport being predictably chaotic. Apparently the flights had been cancelled because of the harmattan weather. I called a friend up in Abuja to confirm and he told me the sky was clear and blue. Meanwhile, all the other airlines were flying as usual..

Friends I’ve called to moan in the past few days of bad experiences are surprised I am so behind the times. One friend says, ‘helllloooo – Virgin Nigeria is now the new Nigeria Airways – didn’t you know?” Nigeria Airways faced a long slow death by dysfunction, for those that don’t know. This won't happen to Virgin Nigeria however - supply for local flights cannot meet demand, especially on the Lagos-Abuja route.

It’s a shame that an airline that started out with the promise of being different and offering a quality service has become so quickly Nigerianised – consistently and unapologetically poor service and all the signs of further degradation ahead. It makes the hop from Abuja to Lagos a difficult decision: do you fly Virgin Nigeria, and know you are going to be 3 hours late but at least the planes are relatively new? Do you fly Arik, and again know the plane will be at least 3 hours late (if it comes) and buying a ticket is a nightmare? Or do you fly Aero, where the planes tend to be more or less on time – but the queueing system at Abuja airport is a Darwinian rugby scrum? Or do you fly Chanchangi, IRS and the rest, and just pray you get there in one piece?

The local airline sector in Nigeria seems to worsen by the day, to the point where advertised flying times are becoming practically meaningless, as the airlines revert to the danfo model of transport they seem to know best: when the plane is full, then we will take off. The next step downwards will be stewards hanging out the door of the plane shouting abujaabujaabujaabuja while people jostle to climb up the stairs..

Anyone else have any stories to tell about Virgin Nigeria? Why is their service so awful these days? Its such a pity..