Bellview Airlines (threads merged)
 

Whats going on with the 76ers for Bellview Airlines, got me all excited not too long ago and now nothing!!! Have they found crew yet ! Anybody with some news and when they will start this operation!

Come on Bellview lets get going:ok: :ok: :ok:

Bellview Airlines of Nigeria named this Boeing 767-200 N806HE, "Charity".
The ex-Varig aircraft was painted here at GYR and was parked on the
TIMCO Ramp in November 2004. Also N805HE, "Unity". also an ex-Varig aircraft was parked on the
TIMCO Ramp too.

http://www.visitingphx.com/wpn50.html
http://www.visitingphx.com/wpn52.html

Both aircraft left Goodyear for Marana. They were spotted conducting air tests on April 16 (source: cactuswings website).

The airline's new website offers a newsletter "Preference" http://www.flybellviewair.com/bellviewnews.pdf in which it's said that the a/c will also be registered in Nigeria soon.

No news on route commencement, although all indications point to a Mumbai initial route.

No further info available.

These pretty birds should be in Naija anytime from now.
Regards
DMan

It will be a pleasure to see Bellview operate the 767,s . I am however informed that Ansett from whom bellview years back leased an A300-600 may have put spanner to the works . This may not necessarily put a stop to the delivery but could delay it.I am informed there are still some outstanding issues regarding the A300-600 lease.

WHY, HOW BIG IS THAT SPANNER MAN :sad: :sad:

WHAT ARE THE OUTSTANDING ISSUES WITH ANSETT Gander707
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW :* :*

Zazoo

:ugh: :ugh:

That mean $$$ :E

If my memory serves me well, Ansett seized back its A300 from Bellview somewhere in Europe due to lease default. I could be mistaken, I just hope a settlement was/is being finalized prior to 767 deliveries.

I am sorry to have jumped the gun but being in Africa to long makes you think about these things.

PS: I really hope things work for them as they are not a bad airline at all (for African conditions and situations).

A week or three ago their manager in ACC was still boarding a few late pax and the pilot shutted the door.

He started shouting at the pilot from gate 2 and the pilot just showed his watch and taxied away :E

God Bless the manager - he ran away :p (a good guy by the way) ;)

Saw an a/c at the international wing of lagos airport in BELLVIEW colours. Appears to be a B -767. Maybe they have
sorted their problems afterall.

Guys,
One of the 762 touched down in Lagos this morning, its at the Delta Wing close to the Virgin Nigeria A320.

Regards
DMan

Bellview Long Haul Launch
 

Will the other 767-200 follow shortly? I find it odd that an aircraft would be delivered and flight schedules have not even been announced yet. This means no back log of reservations and planes will fly almost empty initially.

Any plans for these a/c other than Mumbai and Johannesburg from Lagos and Freetown respectively?



Thanks

This is Absolutly Smashing :O :O :O :O Great news guys really great news. I am so proud of the people at Bellview, you can all walk with your heads high.

I presume they have sorted it all out with those people with a big hammer :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: whom ever they are !!!

Dman how about a picture for me please I am not in the country and would like to have a glimps of it never mind the resolution of your camera.

Once again Congratulations and hopefully when the second aircraft arrives and the inaugural flight takeoff we shall jubilate.
:ok: :ok: :ok: :ok:

Zazoooooooo

Bellview Boeing 767-200ER photo
 

Zazoo,

Here we go! Uploaded to Airliners.net recently. Not sure if this is the one that has arrived LOS.

<http://www.airliners.net/open.file?i...=795134&size=L>

anyone know of whether they would need crew and what the requirements will be?

;) thanks

Bellview Flight/Cabin Crew for 767
 

There was an add in Flight International (hardcopy and internet edition) a month or so ago about 767 Captain vacancies. I believe vacancies have been closed but I could be wrong. You may send them an e-mail, check their website out www.flybellviewair.com

Thanks GlobalFlyer thats a great shot of Unity :ok:

gen3 they did have an advertisement out in Flight International for CAPTAINS/INSTRUCTORS 3000HRS B767-200ER - BASE LAGOS- ETOPS EXPERIENCE-ICAO ATPL - FIRST CLASS MED.

Contact: [email protected] FAX: 44 207328 3646 try it out you never know!

Zazoo

B3 767 Lease Info
 

The lessor is GECAS, and the lease term began on May 12th.
The a/c is yet to be registered 5N- ?
Dotun do u have info on initial routes and schedules, etc.?

;) Thanks guys, been out of touch for a bit. will check the info out. appreciate it. :ok:

Mumbai route
 

A Nigerian Newspaper today quotes the bellview MD as saying that the 767 was acquired for the Mumbai route.

B3s 767 wasn't parked at DNMM this afternoon. any new developments? Heard there was an ad in local papers for pilots engineers and cabin crew for bombay route

What paper was that adv in Capt. M ? could you find out for me!

Do you think they would consider recently Typed qualified 767 FO'S at this time. Have someone who is interested, and keen to apply.

Thanks Sir.

Zazoo

re-advert
 

check thisday pages 37 and 53, thursday 19 may edition.

Bellview publishes long haul schedules
 

I noticed that Bellview Airlines has published online (OAG, Amadeus) its flight schedule, effective June 20, 2005 for its new direct service, Lagos-Mumbai (India) to be operated by 767-200ER aircraft.

Flights will depart Lagos twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday, at 20:00 and arrive in Mumbai on Tuesday and Friday, at 10:30. Flight time will be 10 hours.

Return flights will depart Mumbai every Tuesday and Friday at 21:00 and arrive Lagos the next morning at 07:00. Flight time will be 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Is it possible for the 767-200ER to fly nonstop for 14:30 on the return journey?? I would imagine that two groups of flight crew will be onboard alternating duties during the very long flight?

I just hope that with the 767 their time keeping will be better than with the 737. I have found their time-keeping to be very bad and their check-in desk at MMIA is very badly run. I was recently told to be there at a time, but when I arrived I was told the desk would not open for another hour and to return then. They made no attempt to control the numerous queue jumpers and before the desk was even officially opened they were checking in some 'big oggas', with total disregard for all the other passengers who had been waiting for up to an hour. My flight was more than 3 hours late and no explanation was given.

As for their booking system - it's a joke. I was quoted 3 different times for the flight I last took, they didn't even know what days it ran on and the price I paid bore no relationship to any of the ones I was quoted over the phone.

Their one saving grace is that the flights do at least usually depart on the day that they say and the aircraft appear to be reasonably well maintained.

Give me ACN any day - I just hope they expand their African network to include countries like Senegal, The Gambia, Gabon, Cameroon, Chad and Angola. They seem to be much better run and their aircraft are always well maintained (and no, I have never worked for ACN , but I was very happy to see them starting flights to countries outside Nigeria).

With the advent of airlines like VN and the increasing number of airlines offering services within the West African region I hope all the airlines will be motivated to mimprove their passenger relationships and I hope the competition will keep the fares at a reasonable level.

:ok: Out of a pax viewpoint - well said. We can just benefit from more professional airlines coming in or present airlines getting there .. :ok:

Any news on the 767 from Bellview pruners out there!!!

Been a while now and has the second ship arrived ?

Cheers

Zazoo

PS: OFF TO THE PARIS AIRSHOW IN THE MORNING ANY OF THE GUYS FROM BACK HOME ALSO GOING !!

Long haul flights
 

Amadeus Flight Schedules show Bellview will start, as stated above, twice weekly nonstop flights to Mumbai from Lagos on June 20, 2005 with Boeing 767-200ER aircraft.

The Guardian yesterday also reported Bellview will commence Freetown - London (didnt specify which airport) flights on July 2, 2005, operating as Bellview Sierra Leonne Airlines. No information on frequency.

News from FNA is that they asked for 3 per week and received 2 to Heathrow that is.

''the boss speaks''
 

Why consolidation can’t work in the aviation sector
Kayode Odukoya, CEO, Bellview Airline


•Kayode Odukoya
Photo: Sun News Publishing
Money Index
Mr Kayode Odukoya, the Chief Executive Officer of Bellview Airlines is not happy with the way the Federal Government is treating the domestic airlines especially in the areas of designation, flight frequencies and other concessions.
The Bellview boss argues that the lucrative routes are reserved for the foreign airlines when there are capable local airlines that can handle that. He sees it as robbing the indigenous airlines to pay their foreign counterparts.

As a panacea, he is therefore clamouring for a level playing field for all airlines operating in the country.
First and foremost, the issue of airlines owing the government does not go down well with him because according to him, “most of the claims of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) are bogus. They’re not reconciling figures. Most of these claims are usually blackmail because airlines are actually paying. We in Bellview are paying almost N50 million every month in charges” he says.
He spoke recently on the airline’s performance in the industry, its expansion efforts, recapitalization and more.

Designation
We are the leading carrier that brought about designation in Nigeria in practical terms.
We did this through our Bellview-Sierra Leone that is flying into 14 countries. We are flying into Abuja, Ghana, Conakry, Monrovia, Libreville, Monrovia, Freetown etc. No Nigerian carrier has had that kind of experience we do have. Immediately after the designation, Bellview was designated to fly to both Freetown and Bombay. We’re operating six flights per week into Freetown. We have six aircraft. We just got two new Boeing 767 for the Lagos-Bombay route. If the government had designated us on the London route, we would have been able to sell London ticket for 400 dollars. The aircraft can fly non-stop into London, New York, Johannesburg, Bombay, China etc because it’s a 14 hour non stop aircraft. The same with Ethiopian airline.

Challenges
To consistently remain in business is challenge on its own. Painfully we do not operate on the same level playing field with the foreign airlines. It’s even pathetic that foreign airlines are increasing their frequencies everyday and here are we Nigerians, we’re not given the fair opportunity. It’s a bit surprising to trade your frequency for royalty. Rather you should be trading your requency for jobs, infrastructure, for retaining your capital and for strengthening your country.

We’re asking government for opportunities. We’re flying 24 flights daily. Bellview has demonstrated without any doubt that we have the capacity and the international community as a lot of confidence in us. This is the first time that a domestic airline again has delivered two B727 flown by Nigerians, not a wet lease.

I urge you people (press) to support and clamour for a level playing field. The government gives us the level playing field and allows carriers to come in so that Nigerians can derive the benefit of democracy. We’ve gotten part of it because we don’t think any route should be reserved. Everybody should be given the opportunity.

Airlines merger/consolidation
Yes. The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) is clamouring for airlines merger to make the aviation industry stronger. But I’ve always said that when you talk of consolidation, it’s a pure blackmail. There is no consolidation in South Africa, Kenya and co. They are designating. Consolidation evolves as a result of market forces not by coercion. Why can’t they ask the newspapers houses to merge? You don’t force people to come together or merge. You don’t put a gun in somebody’s head to make merger effective. If a business is successful, people will merge and pull resources together and achieve what we call economies of scale. There is no where in the world where you put consolidation ahead of designation or liberalization. How much consolidation has taken place in Africa. It’s still an evolving process. That is not a justification to bring Virgin into Nigeria.

Recapitalization
Bellview made a recapitalization of N1 billion to meet the demands of the industry. That’s a lot of money. We want to keep delivering good services.

Disciplining debtor airlines
The Minister of Aviation, Mallam Isa Yuguda has declared to go hard on erring airlines that cut corners and those who owe the parastatals. That is not the point. Most of the claims of FAAN are bogus. They are not reconciling figures. If you say I owe you money, we have to agree on terms of the debt. Most of the claims are blackmail. We pay N50 million every month to FAAN and NCAA on charges. So it’s not a situation where one party rushes to the press to say airline a or b is owing. You have to hear the other party’s side. Is Virgin not owing in its country? Major carriers owe millions of dollars. The aircrafts they bring here are leased. They don’t belong to them. They’re wet leased. A wet lease is illegal. Under our regulation, you cannot start an operation with a wet lease. You can see that the Virgin Nigeria aircraft is on wet lease but if I go and bring a wet lease, you’ll tell me I can’t come. So what standard are you then preaching. The rules must be the same. They are driving us to the wall. It’s easier to bring a wet lease for B727 aircraft but because it’ll be against our regulation, we had to bring a dry lease.
I actually salute the minister for his efforts in sanitizing and standardizing the industry. You can continue to sanitize the industry and at the same time give good ones an opportunity to grow.

Virgin Nigeria plying domestic routes
The whole essence of bringing Virgin Nigeria into operation was to address the issue of capital flight. It was to come and operate against British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, Alitalia, South Africa Airways, Emirates etc. and not to come and fly Lagos-Abuja. We’re already retaining our capital. Nigerians want a flag carrier. Nigerians are not complaining about flying Lagos-Abuja. There are about 30 flights going there. You can pick or choose where you want to sit. The reason why government floated a flag carrier is for the airline to be going where we have a disadvantage. It’s breach of memorandum of understanding. It’s slap on our face it shouldn’t be allowed. We are not holding these people to a level playing field.
There is no point asking Virgin to come and meet us in our market and yet we can’t go and meet them in their market. Where they are coming from is liberalized market. What is happening here cannot happen in the United Kingdom.

Management style
I believe in professionalism and it’s in the Bellview family. For our new operation, we trained five sets of crew. We have the infrastructure. We’re a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) clearing house. That’s part of professionalism.

2nd June 2005:ok:

Not impressed
 

"Why can’t they ask the newspapers houses to merge? You don’t force people to come together or merge. You don’t put a gun in somebody’s head to make merger effective. If a business is successful, people will merge and pull resources together and achieve what we call economies of scale. There is no where in the world where you put consolidation ahead of designation or liberalization. How much consolidation has taken place in Africa. It’s still an evolving process. That is not a justification to bring Virgin into Nigeria."

Im not impressed and im not convinced. It sounds like Mr. Odukoya is constantly dwelling in the immediate past, not realizing that Virgin Nigeria is really here and will stay.

It's time Bellview starts thinking of ways to compete and protect its own interests, pro-actively rather than reacting negatively and constantly mobilizing the media against Virgin Nigeria.

I don't recall ONCE Mr. Odukoya mentioning anything about welcoming competition, either domestically or internationally. In contrast, Aero contractors has often made statements welcoming competition and the technical and managerial know-how Virgin Nigeria will introduce to the country.

I also disagree with what he says about mergers. In MOST cases, companies merge as a result of intense market pressure and adaptation. The pressure on existing private carriers is very high now, especially after VK's announcement of very competetive fares, and it only makes sense for them to react by joining forces to become stronger against VK. Mergers doesnt mean merging with any airline. Good mergers result from two airlines of similar product type and market, consolidating to merge. I dont see why Bellview and Sosoliso for example, shouldnt merge. They both have a relatively good reputation and their route networks fit nicely into one another (no duplication). Another example is Bellview and Overland. The merged carrier would offer something VK doesnt offer (regional coverage of the hinterlands), and hence what I meant in 'stronger'.

There's no doubt the governments policies havnt been exactly consistent and fair to everyone, but I just hope Mr. Odukoya can just show a bit more confidence in adapting to a new reality in the Nigerian airline industry.

PS: The above interview is a bit dated.

Mhhhhhhhm - sonds like Mr. Virgin himself talking
because any unbiased oserver would have noticed that the Bellview CEO is critisizing governments - or the ministry's preferential treatment of the foreign carriers.

And the last thing the local operators need are additional seats between Lagos, Abuja and PHC when they can't even get a decent CLF with the presently operating fleets. I guess there Mr Virgin has missed a golden opportunity of co-operation with the locals.

B3 people know VGN is here to stay. I think Mr. Odukoya should be given some credit for defying all odds given the circumstances. Their relationship with GECAS is very good and they pay leases on time.

It's time for the ageing fleet of 737-200s to leave though. It's only a matter of weeks before the typical passenger on the domestic flights realize VGN's A320s are much more comfy and quite! Bellview's fares to ABV/PHC are about the same as VGN (for how long?).

Despite all of this, Bellview tries. VK's arrival should give them more incentive now to try harder especially in the area of punctuality, service, and technology.

Interestingly there are domestic routes in the UK where the introduction of a competitor was a spur to increased travel. The incumbents on the route squelaed and moaned before the extra airline was allowed on (I worked for one of them). They claimed that traffic would be diluted etc. In reality traffic grew on the route. proper competition meant more exciting yield control and promotions for the passengers.

Competition shouldn't be feared it should be welcomed. I'm sure Bellview would squeal if Aero or VGN wanted to compete on the Mumbai route.

Lets get on with life and maka a success of aviation in Nigeria

Ok folks does anyone can tell if both 767 are flying and what kind of route (England, India, USA ???)

nothing on the website

Learr

Bellview is reportedly starting Lagos-Freetown-LHR on July 2nd. No trace of this service on OAG though. They were cleared for FNA-JNB, but there was no major PR about this, no firm dates either. Bellview also applied for Lagos-Washington DC but the application was rejected for unkown reasons. In any case, exciting times ahead for this proud airline. Let's hope they sustain those services.

Here is a photo of the 2nd 767 "Unity" passing though San Juan on the delivery flight:

http://www.myaviation.net/search/pho...hp?id=00387364

Good luck Bellview!

Any ideas on the salary for the 767 crew ??

London Flight Schedules
 

London flights have been uploaded to the CRS with flights from Lagos to London Heathrow Terminal 2 via Freetown every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. The flight is listed as 'a/c change enroute'. Could Bellview be operating the 737 to FNA and then an a/c change to a 767 or will the flight be in fact 767 all the way?? Anyone at B3 to shed some light?

767 registrations
 

N805HE, "Unity", became 5N-BGG.

Any word on N806HE "Charity" and its new registration?