Azman Air is a Nigerian airline that operates a fleet of only five planes which include four 737s and one A340.
The 14-year-old Airbus A340 with registration code 5N-AAM was added to the carrier’s fleet in June 2020. Before the addition, the plane was used by Virgin Atlantic, but Virgin Atlantic retired the whole of its A340 fleet.
Instead of maintaining Virgin Atlantic’s interiors, Azman Air resolved to reconfigure the A340 with a total of 413 seats — which includes 411 economy seats, and… two business class seats.
Azman Air has operated domestic flights, but it is looking to commence international operations. As one would expect, a 400+ seat plane can operate beyond Nigeria. However, Azman Air wasn’t approved for international flights by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for a very long time.
To get the approval, demonstration flights were needed to ensure that Azman Air is compliant with global aviation safety standards. After the first plane was flown to Dakar, Azman Air’s A340 went on an even more exciting journey:
● On June 23, 2021, the Azman Air A340 flew from Kano to Nassau in a flight time of 12hr43min
●On June 26, 2021, the Azman Air A340 flew from Nassau to Kano in a flight time of 12hr46min
The demonstration flights of Azman Air’s demonstration were a success, and the airline was approved to operate international flights.
