How to Book Travel on Virgin Nigeria Airways

Virgin Nigeria Airways is a familiar airline to many foreign travelers in Nigeria. It is 51 percent owned by Nigerians and 49 percent by Virgin Atlantic. The airline operates daily service from Lagos to London, and flights to Johannesburg three times a week. You can also get to Accra, Dakar and Douala in Cameroon. Domestic Nigerian flights are run between Lagos and Abuja, Kano, Owerri, Sokoto and Calabar.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Computer with Internet access
• Long-distance phone access
• Credit card to book your travel

Book Your Travel With Virgin Nigeria Airlines

1. Log onto the Virgin Nigeria Airways Web site (see Resources below) and click on "Timetable" to familiarize yourself with the VNA schedule. Alternatively, you can call their UK office to book by phone at 011 ([phone].

2. Click on "Booking Center" to get started.

3. Choose "Book Now" and follow the instructions to input your desired flight parameters. You'll find that this function is much like that of many American Airlines.

4. Click on "Find Flights" once you're done. The search engine will come back momentarily with your choices for that destination.

5. Choose the flight you want. Proceed to the next page for payment information.

6. Pay online or look at the payment page to find the most convenient local office where you can pay and pick up your tickets. This is the standard procedure for purchasing air travel tickets in Nigeria. Virgin Nigeria does offer online payers the option of receiving an electronic or "e-ticket."

Travel Wisely When Heading to Africa

1. Make sure you have the visa you need as well as the inoculations you require for travel to and within Africa.

2. Click on "Travel Information" on the VNA Web site.

3. Choose "Health and Visa Information."

4. Fill out the form and click "Submit."

5. Discover what visas you need to obtain and what you need to be inoculated against for your particular destination.

Tips & Warnings

• All phone numbers include the United States international prefix "011." When calling internationally from outside the United States, check which prefix to use. All country codes are within parentheses and begin with a "+" sign.

• Virgin Nigeria Airways offers possibly the most efficient online booking of all the Nigerian airlines, so book all your travel on Virgin Nigeria over the Internet. They are also one of the few to offer payment online using an Interswitch debit card in Nigeria, or by credit card if you happen to be in the United Kingdom.

• Always confirm your flight by phone with Virgin Nigeria Airways 48 hours in advance.

• Virgin Nigeria Airways is not an inexpensive alternative. It's more likely to be priced slightly higher than other Nigerian options. This is partly because of the added amenities and newer planes.