28 July 08

COMING SOON: VIRGIN NIGERIA’S NEW INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGE

Lagos Nigeria, 28th July 2008: Virgin Nigeria is pleased to announce the forthcoming opening of its new Business Class lounge located at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, in line with her commitment to deliver world class services to her numerous customers.

Scheduled to open in August, the new lounge which has a total floor space of 175 square metres is situated on the Upper Level between Immigration and the Virgin Nigeria boarding gates, and will offer international passengers the convenience of relaxation before departure.

There is an office area with full wireless connectivity and numerous plug-ins for free broadband and laptop points for passengers wanting to maximize their ground time by getting down to business.

The fantastic view of the tarmac gives customers real time information as they can watch their aircraft land and take-off.

Speaking on the opening of the exclusive VIP lounge, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Conrad Clifford said that the VIP lounge will offer another unique home advantage to business travellers as well as eagle flier members.
 
“Our passengers will have access to a Virgin Nigeria designated facility that serves as home away from home, thereby making air travel a pleasurable experience”, Conrad said. Designed in contemporary African style, the facility has a capacity for 50 customers and provides a full buffet with snacks, fruit and cold cuts, accompanied by assorted choice champagnes, wines, cocktails, liqueurs and brandies along with menus for each meal of the day.

Virgin Nigeria is the first Nigerian airline premiering this service, with specially trained staff and a dedicated manager to man the lounge.




About Virgin Nigeria

Virgin Nigeria is Nigeria's private sector flag carrier, 51% owned by Nigerian institutional investors and 49% owned by Virgin Atlantic. The airline was formed in September 2004 when the Federal Government of Nigeria announced the selection of Virgin Atlantic Airways as the strategic investor and technical partner in this exciting project.

With the mission of being a World Class Airline from the heart of Africa, Virgin Nigeria, has steadily developed a global network that serves domestic, regional and international routes from its operational hub at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

With a focus on improving the customer’s experience, Virgin Nigeria is constantly developing innovative products for the convenience of its customers. Some of these innovations include the online booking and payment system. The online and booking payment system allows the customer to book from anywhere in world, as well as make payments with an interswitch debit card for people in Nigeria and most international credit and debit cards for persons in London.

Virgin Nigeria’s customers traveling on the domestic service can also make use of the new ‘Carry On, Carry Off’ product called “COCO”. This product allows passengers traveling on the domestic service carrying cabin hand luggage which is over 6kg to hand these over to the attendants at the foot of the aircraft. These bags are specially tagged and collected by the passengers on arrival at the tarmac.

Virgin Nigeria recently announced an order for 24 Embraer aircraft. The order consists of E170s and E190s jets. Delivery of the first aircraft is scheduled for September 2008.

Virgin Nigeria is listed on the IOSA Directory following its successful completion of the intensive IATA Operational Safety Audit which now places it at par with the best airlines in the world having shown its commitment and demonstration to airline safety standards

Virgin Nigeria is the first Nigerian airline and first West African carrier to be listed on the IOSA Directory.

For more information, visit www.virginnigeria.com