On the back of a recent announcement by Nigeria's Arik Air (W3) that it was keen to launch direct Lagos - São Paulo flights by August of this year, so Brazil's GOL Transportes Aéreos (G3) has announced that it is now "studying the possibility" of opening a new route between Brazil and Nigeria.
According to GOL, the new flight will be operated by a Boeing 737-800 though it did not elaborate on likely routes or schedules. Initial speculation has pointed to a possible Recife to Lagos service beginning in October 2013 with a possible onward sector to Luanda, Angola, though this has not yet been confirmed by the airline.
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| GOL 737 in Sao Paulo (sbgrgru) |
Ethiopian will also shortly launch its début South American flights in July via its West African hub in Lomé, Togo; the first airline to exploit the growing bond between the two continents.
Trade between Nigeria and Brazil has been growing in the last few years with volumes now reaching USD9billion in 2012. Brazilian petroleum giant, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, is now set to expand its presence in the West African country following a visit by President Dilma Rousseff to Nigeria in February in which she signed various agreements pertaining to energy, aviation, agriculture, electricity, infrastructure development and defense.
