By Frank Kintum
Nigeria may not be among the top nations in the world in terms of Aviation services, but it has got domestic airlines delivering competitive services to patrons.
Amongst the readily available airlines dominating the country’s sky are Aero Contractors, Dana Airline, Air Peace, Azman airline, Arik airline etc. Ibom Air, United Nigeria Airline are some of the new entrants.
In the charter services, we also have Execu Jets, West Link among others.
I recently made a trip from Lagos to Abuja flying with Dana airline to and fro, and my experience, to my mind, is worth sharing.
First impression matters. Booking for a Dana Air ticket online (where, according to the company, you enjoy a 10% discount), made a very good first impression.
The website- www.flydanaair.com is very user friendly, easy to navigate and really does not need a tech-savvy hand to go through. With the basic knowledge of using the computer, you can easily make your booking.
While queuing at the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2, run by Bi-Courtney, I witnessed the orderliness in which the ground staff enforced.
On entering the aircraft shortly after, I was greeted warmly by the standby hostess, who in sighting my boarding pass, politely welcomed me and advised on my sitting wing.
Because I sat towards the tail of the aircraft, enjoyed all the comfort Dana Air could possibly offer but was not comfortable with the engine noise.
However, on my return trip, I never noticed the engine noise, possibly because it was not the same aircraft that was deployed for my return trip.
Little turbulence before we finally touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
On the return leg, the only snag was that the flight earlier booked for about 5 pm, was re-scheduled backwards to 4 pm or thereabout.
Touched down Lagos after about 50 minutes of smooth cruising and though I miss the usual Dana light refreshments on board (understandably so because of Covid-19 guidelines), I must commend the cabin crew and the pilot for always ensuring Dana remains one of the top-notch airlines in Nigeria.
On both trips, I noticed that the aircraft were almost filled, reinforcing the notion that Dana airline is very popular with many flying passengers in Nigeria.
