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Juha Järvinen, is the Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic. He also leads the Commercial function, which includes airline commercial with network planning, joint venture with Delta and Air France KLM, partnerships, revenue management and distribution, corporate and travel trade sales, Virgin Atlantic Holidays tour operator business, Virgin Atlantic Cargo, government & industry affairs and sustainability. In this interview with SHOLA ADEKOLA, he speaks on the 23 years of the airline in Nigeria, next plan for the market and other issues.
HOW would you rate your operations in Nigeria in the last 23 years?
We have been flying to Nigeria for 23 years. We are here to do another round of appreciation because of the importance of Nigeria to us and it is one of our top-performing routes in our network. As a challenger and as a fighter in changing the name of the game in the aviation industry, we are still living to that DNA. We give the best service to customers. We have been recording high load factors, demand is strong and we are on 85 to 90 mark. We have strong performance on the route. We want to fly with our best product; that is A350-1000 on the route and that is what we are committed to, that is what Nigerians deserve, the best product and that is what we are planning to have in the future as well as the big part of the demand is to London as much as we can offer connectivity to places like New York and other US destinations. That is really what we are committed to make sure that we have the best option for Nigerians travelling to London and beyond.
There are three airlines going to London directly from Nigeria. What has been your strategy to survive the competition?
We love competition. We have been growing with competition. We love competing with a few airlines that are currently flying nonstop and we believe that we have the best product offering with an Upper-class premium economy and are attractive price point. We schedule early in the morning, which allows you to avoid rush hour in Lagos and we continue to make sure we have a good selection of movies, food and try as much as possible to localise for the Nigerian customers and they appreciate our offer. Also not forgetting our people, our cabin crew who are the best in the skies. We claim they are the best in the skies and that’s what we stand for.
What is your strategy to remain relevant on Nigerian strategic market?
South Africa and Nigeria have been part of our portfolio for a very long time. We continue to explore new opportunities as well. We have announced Accra in Ghana and launch that in May, which is another incremental growth and belief in Africa and West Africa specifically, and we continue to explore more. We are currently happy with our Lagos performance. We need to be competitive. We believe that we have the right offering in the market and of course, we need to always be involved in it and explore growth opportunities that there could be.
What is your expansion plan for Nigeria and Africa?
To be precise, we have Lagos. Accra comes in May and Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa. We are currently exploring several other markets in Africa. We see Africa as one of our biggest growth opportunities in a few years.
Are you also planning to go to Abuja, Port-Harcourt or does the BASA restrict you to only Lagos?
At the moment, we are restricted by the BASA
Why has Virgin Atlantic Airways has has been quiet on Nigerian market?
We have never been quiet. We have been doing other things, focusing on other markets in the past few years and at the same time, we have never moved away. Lagos is fundamental to us. We have been happy with what we have been doing but again, we should never underestimate the competition. The competing landscape is getting tougher. We are making sure we can have a fair share and that is why we are here.
Has Virgin Atlantic fully recovered from COVID-19 era?
We have now accomplished the maturity of our 2019. We can hopefully soon leave 2019 behind us. We can have record revenue this year as an airline, and record operating performance which shows that we have left the pandemic behind us. We are here to continue developing the airline profitably and continue growing it just like we are launching Accra, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. We are growing in India. We are growing in multiple markets at the same time because we are now in the expansion phase in a profitable way. In a way 2024 in many ways is the new ground zero for us. We have made some foundational changes, closed some of the operations in other airports, we renewed our fleet, and we now have the youngest fleet in the sky, with over six years. We are the most sustainable option, we have as an organization become much more efficient, and joining Skyteam, so we’ve, I would say, COVID was very difficult for the whole industry, but it’s also, you could say, a blessing of renewal. This year we will be renewing our distribution strategy. We will be implementing new technology, which will make it easier for Nigerian travel agents to book us. So we are always seeking new ways to distribute so that the agents have the best prices and the best offer with our signature version service.
Reveal your plan for Nigerian market?
In this market, we have the newest aircraft on the route which is the A350-100. Next year, we will be renewing our distribution strategy and implementing new technology for Nigerian travel agents with new ways to distribute for the best prices and best offer and to make sure that the distinctive Virgin service is enjoyed by many Nigerians
How to rescue Nigeria’s airline industry from its precarious position?
The key of course for any economy is connectivity. Of course, the regional connectivity is key. Of course, we will be keen to work with the airline, which can build that locally in the region. That’s probably the best advice I could give that the regional connectivity is key. We can provide longer connectivity to Europe, the UK and of course the US. But what Nigeria should do is make sure that there is strong regional connectivity to make sure that Nigeria and the other countries in the region can benefit from working closer together and making sure that the local economy becomes stronger.
Where do you see Virgin Atlantic in the next 40 years?
Well, we had a lot of various activities this year and of course, Sir Richard Branson is extremely proud that we made it to 40 years. And of course, we’re excited for the next 40 years. I mean the key for us to live up to our DNA as a challenger brand, we want to focus on customer excellence, make sure that we have a different customer service proposition and we take care of our people because our people when they are feeling good, they also are better towards the customer. it’s about the continuous renewal of the product. In today’s world also, it is good to be sustainable by having the youngest fleet in the sky and having the best product that is a way for us to grow further. We see growth opportunities in Africa as a continent. India of course as well, India and Africa are the two markets where we see the biggest growth efficiency in the next years.
Why were some foreign airlines threatened to leave Nigeria because of trapped funds, while Virgin Atlantic remained?
It was a challenging period for quite a long time but we didn’t want to leave because again that shows our commitment to the market. So we found different ways to repatriate some funds but of course, it was very expensive for us as well to do that. Currently, we’re in a much better position but of course, it’s key that the economy starts improving and the currency would be more stable.
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