Chukwuerika Achum Erika is a prominent figure in the aviation industry, a lifelong aviator known for his entrepreneurship, innovation and extraordinary leadership skills. He is the founder of Falcon Aerospace Limited, the brand owner of Aviation Services Outfit, Vivajets. Digital platforms; flypjx and charterxe; business incubation costumes, adrenalina. Instig Labs, a high-tech company. In this interview with Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha, he talks about the acquisition of Falcon's air operational certificate, the opportunities arising from this milestone, and plans for expansion.
Congratulations on receiving your Aviation Operation Certificate (AOC). What does this result mean for Falcon's operations and how will it affect your services?
AOC is the gold standard for air transport operations. There are many different categories of AOCs. There is a scheduled, unscheduled freight. And for us, the unscheduled AOC was extremely key to our ambitions. It is to spread our wings to Africa. Africa has been talking about the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). Of the 57 African countries, 34 have ratified the treaty. This is called the decision of Yamoussoukro. And for us, having an African AOC gives us unlimited commercial rights to the 34 countries that have more or less ratified the Yamsu Soukuro decision. So it's more strategic in line with our ambitions. And of course, if you are constantly talking about Africa's industrialization, you must talk about promoting travel across Africa.
Can you explain the process of getting an AOC? What were some of the challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?
First, we start by talking about a process that is a five-phase process. The process is expected to be completed in six months. But beyond what's on paper, the problem we've had in the past was the problem of standardization, an issue of authorities that are more or less transparent in the process.
But what we found in our process was an authority that was extremely happy, ready and capable of supporting first applicants like us. So, Nigeria doesn't say they're there when it comes to making business easier. But, especially when we spoke with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) through the AOC process, what we found was the Civil Aviation Authority who was very understanding, happy, capable and ready to promote the process. They viewed it as a transaction, not how it had been in the past. There, it appeared that a potential operator was begging to get the application. However, from what I've seen, the NCAA considers this a transaction. And I was very excited. To be honest, as a business owner, that's what we want. Let's kill bureaucracy. Do as much as possible to encourage businesses to thrive. That was the impression I gained from the first day I started interacting with the NCAA.
How do you envision Falcon's AOC contributes to the growth and development of Nigeria's aviation industry?
So for us, Nigeria has many challenges and Africa has many challenges. For us, we are already beginning to see the service as an export-based service. It exports charter services throughout Africa. In this short range, we already dominate the West African continent. That's why I consider business aviation an enabler. Our business is very forex. We see 80% of our revenues as more or less natural effects. And this is what Nigeria needs. This is the cry of non-oil exports. I'm watching it on business aviation. Recently there was a pick up from Freetown to Abuja. All of these incomes come to us as natural forex.
What opportunities are the opportunities that arise from this milestone, and how will Falcon take advantage of them?
We've already done that. We are already in the market to finance our debts. I would like to buy three more Challenger 604s. We will need eight planes by the end of this year. Currently I'm operating two. You'll get the third one right away. The acquisition must be closed by next week. By the end of this year, we hope to have eight planes running.
How do Falcon services distinguish between existing players in the market? And what unique value proposition do you offer to your clients?
Transparency and integrity are important to us. For us, we are very sad to disappoint our customers. It has more or less shaped our philosophy regarding customer satisfaction and customer success.
Because we serve our eccentric customers, we can't tell you what tomorrow is. We serve customers who are not in the wrong time because we don't have a better word. We believe we are in a business selling our time back to our customers. We understand that clearly. It shapes our sales and operational philosophy. When I say I've taken shape, there's no way we can survive without excellence. It appears throughout our organization. Think about potential customer issues and solve them before they appear.
Beyond that all, one of our biggest assets is the fact that we were able to attract the right people very early on. We were very fortunate to hire. We attracted the very right people to our organization. These people had a major impact on the organization. I can keep going and say a lot. For me, I think the most important thing is the people we attracted to the organization. They are actually our unique selling point.
With AOC in place, what are the plans for Falcon to expand within Nigeria and potentially expand?
We are on the market to raise $25 million for the same three Challenger 604 planes as the currently operating plane. And I, by the end of this year, our ambition is to have eight planes operating under the call sign.
How do you balance growth and regulatory compliance and what strategies do you adopt to maintain?
This brings together compliance and safety. It can't even work without these. Here is an example. If you look at our management organization, you will see that it is at the top of leadership. Not only as a strategic role, but also by regulatory requirements, we must have a quality assurance role that serves not only as a financial compliance role, but as our key compliance officer. It cannot work without safety in mind. Looking at the spectrum of AOCs, there are different parts of AOCs and different parts of duty. We have a Director of Flight Operations, the Director of Continuous Airworthiness. We have a Chief Pilot. All of these independent people have a variety of operational safety goals. And in fact, it would be surprising that their confirmation letter has not been given by us, the organization, but it is given by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
So we hire, negotiate, hire, but we send them to the NCAA for interviews and confirmation, and the NCAA issues a letter of approval. Yes, they work for us, but technically they work for the Civil Aviation Authority. So, to go back to your question and answer it honestly, there is a big intersection between safety and economics. The safest plane is one that parks in a hangar, but that plane doesn't make any money.
Therefore, it must operate between those boundaries. As you know, every time we fly, we need to make sure our risk assessment is appropriate and always make sure it is operating within that curve or its intersection.
With AOCs, are there any new services or initiatives that Falcon will introduce?
Lots, lots, but I bring it closer to my heart. You will see a lot from us. We are constantly involved in the industry. These types of events will be seen very often. And for us, it's like a competitive collaboration. We want to compete, but we want to cooperate.
How do you think the NCAA can support the growth of Nigeria's business aviation?
By making regulations resilient, you understand what you understand rather than breaking the rules. I believe that the government is already doing that by hiring people in the private sector and people who have performed in the private sector into the regulatory space. So now they understand the problem with the operator. They can see where the operator is coming from, and not necessarily destroy or bend the operator's rules, but they stretch and stretch that regulation to ensure that at least it can be certified before the regulations begin. I can't regulate people I haven't proved. I think that's more or less the way I see it.
