Green Africa Airways (Q9, Lagos) has announced a commitment for fifty firm and fifty optioned B737-8s. According to Boeing, the tentative order will be finalized in due course.
The Nigerian start-up carrier is the brainchild of CEO and founder Babawande Afolabi, a former investment banker for Morgan Stanley.
"Today is a historic day for the Nigerian and African aviation industry," he said in a statement. "This landmark deal takes us much closer to our long-held dream of building a world-class airline that will unlock a new realm of positive possibilities for millions of customers. Broadly speaking, this deal is a bold symbol of the dynamism, resilience and soaring entrepreneurial drive of the next generation of Nigerians and Africans."
Green Africa Airways has already secured its Air Services Licence (ASL) from the Nigerian Ministry of Transport and is now in the process of securing its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
It said in a statement in May this year that it would, in its initial stages, operate flights within Nigeria using leased jets. The following month, it said it had completed a Series A round of financing with Kuramo Capital, a Pan African independent investment management group based in New York.
