North American Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of World Air Holdings, Inc. will launch scheduled service between Lagos, Nigeria and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on July 17, 2006. North American, which is the only U.S. airline operating nonstop scheduled service between Africa and the United States, will offer three weekly round-trip flights with its Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.

“Lagos will be the third African city served by North American, in addition to Accra, Ghana and Banjul, The Gambia,” said Rob Binns, chief marketing officer. “Our Lagos customers will appreciate our new Business Class service with all-leather seating, 55-inch seat pitch, 135-degree recline and in-flight entertainment, including nine audio and six video channels to choose from.”

The North American flights will offer 30 Business Class seats and 176 coach seats, departing JFK on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and departing Lagos on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

 
 
“As the leading energy producer in Africa, Nigeria is an increasingly important trading partner of the United States, with U.S. companies now investing nearly US$7 billion into its economy,” said Binns. “Nigeria is also the largest international market currently not served with nonstop service from the United States. As the only U.S. airline to provide nonstop scheduled service to Africa, Lagos is a logical addition to the North American Airlines system.”
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