Nigeria Airways - Fleet

Fleet

BOAC operated Vickers VC-10 services on behalf of Nigeria Airways from April 1964 until an aircraft of the type was acquired from the British state airline in October 1969 (1969-10); the airplane was destroyed in an accident in November that year. Until a new Boeing 707-320C entered the fleet in 1971, Boeing 707s were leased from Laker Airways and Ethiopian Airlines as a replacement of the crashed aircraft for serving the Lagos–London route. Another Boeing 707-320C was ordered in 1972, along with two Boeing 737-200s. In October the same year, the Fokker F28 entered the fleet on a lease agreement with Fokker, and later that year the type was ordered. By March 1975 (1975-03), the fleet consisted of two Boeing 707-320Cs, two Boeing 737-200s, three Fokker F28s, five Fokker F27s, and one Aztec, while five F28-2000s were on order.

In October 1976 (1976-10), the company became the 83rd customer for the Boeing 727, when an order for two Boeing 727-200s and another Boeing 707-320C was placed; it also took possession of a Douglas DC-10-30. Orders for a second DC-10-30 and two F28-4000s were placed in 1977 and 1978, respectively. By July 1980 (1980-07), the fleet consisted of 26 aircraft, split into three Boeing 707-320Cs, two Boeing 727-200s, two Boeing 737-200s, two DC-10-30s, two F27-200s, two F27-400Ms, four F27-600s, six F28-2000s, two F28-4000s, and one Aztec.

Nigeria Airways became Airbus' 40th customer in 1981, when it placed an order for four Airbus A310-200s; these aircraft were incorporated into the fleet in late 1984 and early 1985. Also in 1981, four new Boeing 737-200s were ordered to replace leased aircraft of the same type in a deal worth US$65,000,000 ($166,163,982 in 2012); they were delivered in February 1983 (1983-02).

In 1982, a Boeing 747 was leased from Scanair; the aircraft was deployed on services to the United Kingdom, permitting the DC-10s to be used on new routes to Frankfurt, Paris, and Zurich. Following an accident occurred in November 1983 (1983-11) that involved a Fokker F28, the carrier decided to withdraw from service its F27 and F28 fleet. The fleet was 22-strong in March 1985 (1985-03), comprised by two DC-10-30s, four Airbus A310s, three Boeing 707-320Cs, two Boeing 727-200s, ten Boeing 737-200s, and one Boeing 737-200C; two Boeing 737-200s were on order.

The carrier operated the last DC-10 ever built, on lease from World Airways.