► NIGERIA: Ex Camair-Co boss Alex Van Elk to help set up new Nigerian LCC.

A new Low Cost Carrier will commence operations in Nigeria in 2014 with former Camair-Co (QC) CEO, Alex Van Elk, one of the project's coordinators. According to Mr Van Elk, the carrier is a joint partnership between Nigerian and European investors.

Alex Van Elk

Quoted by Nigeria's Nation, Mr Van Elk said the carrier, as yet unnamed, would aim to launch before July 2014 and focus on the country's domestic market initially before branching out further afield into the region. The LCC is said to be backed by French/Nigerian investors with plans to lease a brand new Airbus A319 for initial operations due "in the next few months".

“We have made contacts with the Nigerian authorities and they are quite pleased with our plans and assured us of government’s support,” he said, stressing that the airline would succeed because it would be devoid of the mistakes associated with most Nigerian airlines which usually lead to their early exit.

He also disclosed that the airline was consulting with mega carriers in Europe, Asia and Africa for interlining arrangements, adding that the responses "had been very encouraging."

There have been various reports of a "large European carrier" interested in launching joint-operations in Nigeria over the last few months though nothing official has yet been revealed. 

In mid-June, Tanzanian LCC, fastjet, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nigeria's Red 1 Airways Ltd (Red 1), to create a low-cost carrier to operate within Nigeria and to destinations across Africa.