The new aircraft
Unity Air, a subsidiary of Unity Group of Companies, which is one of the fastest growing business entities in the country, is preparing to start domestic flights soon.
The company has taken delivery of its first passenger aircraft- 30-seater Embraer 120 Extended Range (EM).
Roger Allotey, Head of Commercial Operations of Air Futures, which operates as Unity Air in Ghana, disclosed this to BUSINESS GUIDE during an inspection of the new aircraft at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on Wednesday.
“There are a few things that we need to do. We have to clear a few documents with civil aviation, clear a few things with international civil aviation and international air transport, among others. Once we do that, we will be ready to commence operations,” he said.
He said Unity Group’ operation in the aviation industry is a natural extension of a thriving business.
Mr Allotey said data showed that passenger airlifts in the country had dropped due to the reduction in domestic airlines over the past four years.
“This means that if you are able to increase the number of airlines and capacity on the route then you will be able to increase the number of passengers who fly.”
Mr Allotey said the airline would commence operations with daily flights to Kumasi and Tamale.
“We will have one trip to Kumasi and one to Tamale in the morning and the same in the afternoon. We do not want to fly after 6 pm as domestic terminals are not well equipped to operate in the evening. The schedules have been carefully planned in order not to conflict with current schedules operated by other domestic carriers.
“We will also be looking carefully at the numbers and making adjustments when the need arises,” he said.
Currently, there is only one domestic airline operating in the country after the grounding of Starbow’s operations.
Mr Allotey noted that the airline would take delivery of more aircraft and increase the destinations in the west coast of Africa.
He said the state-of-the-art aircraft would be manned by experienced pilots and crew members.
“We have experienced pilots and cabin crew but they need retraining specifically for this aircraft, and since we will be competing, we will have reasonable fares which may be cheaper than what other domestic airlines will be offering. Our focus is going to be on customer service,” he added.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri