ANOTHER FLASH IN THE PAN? @MedviewAirlines

The first time I heard about Medview Airline was Wednesday 9th July, 2014. My return flight had been booked for an EbonyLife TV event in Lagos. My first reactions were of disbelief and fear, ones which are not totally different from Nigerians who either have a regular airline or those who have experienced constant disappointments from Nigerian airlines with peculiar penchant for not keeping to time. Besides, owing to my slight phobia for flying, I was a bit disappointed I would not be using my accustomed airline but trying another one. I shrugged off my fears, packed my bags and prepared for my trip the following day.

Thursday. I arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport 2 hours before time, and checked in. It was a bit comforting to see my brother Japheth Omojuwa at the airport; apparently we travelled for the same event and we were booked on the same flight. Having missed each other for months, we quickly settled in to serious discussions about our society and the huge challenge before our generation. Our flight was scheduled for 9am, and the airline surprisingly announced our boarding on time.

By 9am, we were on our way to Lagos, refreshment was light but tasted good. We arrived as scheduled in the flight details. We went for our event, finished and left for the airport for our 5pm return flight to Abuja. By 4:30pm, exhausted, hungry and definitely looking forward to the snacks served while airborne; we were checked in and we waited patiently for the 5pm flight. This is where the problem started.

The 5pm flight was delayed for 45 minutes, which left us a bit worried. It is understandable when we had other engagements in Abuja, and besides; we were seriously hungry. By 5:45pm, another announcement explained “Medview flight to Abuja has been delayed for another 45 minutes”. At this point, Japheth and I decided we would get some food before we die of hunger. We left for KFC, met some friends over lunch and chatted about 30 minutes away. Before this, we realized there was a Medview plane around and wondered why we were not boarding already.

On our way back in, we noticed some angry voices from the Medview stand and so we made an approach. We found confusing messages from apparently distraught passengers “the flight had been cancelled” “the flight has been rescheduled” “funds will be refunded”. Since we could not get an official information from the airline, I quickly sent out tweets asking friends for a link to Medview Airlines. I got responses and quickly sent tweets to the airline. I was pleasantly surprised to see the response from the airline within minutes where they reassured us the delay was due to technical challenges with the available plane. Many passengers threatened fire and brimstone whilst others asked for a refund as they had appointments. Only one pressured for and got a refund, others waited.

By 7pm, we were told and promised that the other plane would arrive by 8pm. However, to my utter surprise, (as this is not customary with similar Nigerian airlines with delay peculiarities), we were all taken to a restaurant where passengers were treated to sumptuous meals. Mixed feelings. Japheth and I had just had lunch some 2 hours earlier, but we took time and had some drinks with snails. (smiles).

As scheduled, the plane arrived by 8pm wherein we were informed and consequently prepared to board. By 8:40pm, we were all on board and the flying crew took turns in apologizing about the hitch and delay caused. My interview with other passengers revealed that Medview ALWAYS fly as scheduled and that they, as regular customers, were surprised of the disappointing delay they experienced that day. Online commentaries also revealed the same opinion about Medview. Although this is peculiar with airlines commencing new services in Nigeria, I hoped that Medview airlines would actually set out to make a serious difference in the aviation industry where constant disappointments with scheduled flights and bad customer service was a normal thing. The following day, they checked up on me and apologized again for the delayed flight; whilst appealing to me to always “fly with us”.

As someone who had experienced serious delays from Nigerian airlines (with my worst with Aero contractors which took me to Lagos around 1:30am for a 5pm flight), I was pleasantly surprised at the professional disposition, and responsive customer service relation from Medview Airlines. It will be totally unjust not to write about my experience with Medview Airlines. I do hope this attitude will continue for a long time and perhaps help build their brand as a reliable airline to always fly with.

Time will totally justify Medview Airlines – if truly this is a new beginning to  a sustained customer friendly service or just another flash in the pan.