United Nigeria Airlines has signed an agreement to acquire six Boeing 737-800 jets from Southwest Airlines, with deliveries scheduled between the first quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027. The deal, arranged through SkyWorks Holdings, includes options for four additional aircraft, potentially increasing the airline’s fleet to 15 jets.

Currently, United Nigeria Airlines operates four Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets. The addition of Boeing 737-800s marks a significant change in fleet composition and scale. The 737-800, known for its reliability and operational flexibility, offers a single-class capacity of up to 189 seats and is suitable for domestic, regional, and select international routes.

SkyWorks Holdings, specializing in aircraft leasing and aviation consultancy, facilitated the transaction. United Nigeria Airlines plans to maintain ongoing cooperation with Southwest Airlines for training and maintenance support after the aircraft are delivered.

Founded in 2020 and based at Enugu International Airport (ENU), United Nigeria Airlines commenced operations in February 2021. The planned fleet expansion is expected to enhance the carrier’s ability to compete on busier routes against larger Nigerian airlines, which operate similar narrowbody jets.

Southwest Airlines, the seller, is currently modernizing its all-737 fleet by phasing out older 737NG models in favor of the more fuel-efficient 737 MAX series. The transfer of these aircraft aligns with Southwest’s fleet renewal strategy.

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Airlines are under growing pressure to modernise their passenger handling systems. Many still rely on outdated networks and multiple vendors, leading to rising costs, security gaps, and delays at the airport. To help address these challenges, SITA has launched SITA Connect Fly, a new managed connectivity service powered by Versa – the global leader in universal Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) technology.

SITA Connect Fly gives airlines and the wider transport industry a faster, more secure way to connect departure control systems (DCS) and web applications directly to their passenger-facing workstations, such as check-in kiosks. With proven Versa SD-WAN connectivity, providing modern software-defined networking and built-in cyber protection, airlines can simplify operations, strengthen resilience, and cut the time needed to open new stations from months to just weeks.

For passengers, the result is less waiting at check-in and boarding, improved trust in the safety of their personal data, and a seamless experience end-to-end.

“Airlines across the world are telling us the same thing: they need faster, more resilient systems to keep up with growing passenger volumes and increased cloud services,” said Martin Smillie, Senior Vice President for Communications and Data Exchange at SITA. “SITA Connect Fly provides a managed secure connectivity service for pre-flight operations worldwide, helping reduce the risk of outages and keeping network and security policies consistent across airports. In practice, this means smoother check-in, more reliable boarding, and a less stressful journey for passengers.”

Kelly Ahuja, CEO of Versa, added that “As SITA’s technology partner, we are extremely gratified to be part of delivering this modernized network and security infrastructure using our VersaONE Universal SASE platform. Our innovations have enabled SITA to transform its managed services and be in a leading position to deliver flexibility and agility to its customers.”

SITA Connect Fly builds on SITA’s widely used Community Connect DCS service, currently supporting check-in and boarding control in more than 400 locations worldwide. While this revamped managed service will bring all the benefits from its cloud native technology, it will still be cost-effective. Essentially, Connect Fly will deliver more value, yet it will remain price-competitive.

The new service is built on VersaONE, Versa’s AI-powered platform that combines network performance and security in one place. With Versa’s global cloud gateways, airlines can connect through the closest point of access, speeding up response times and reducing delays. The platform also ensures that enough bandwidth is always available for critical applications, keeping essential airlines’ systems like departure control running smoothly.

Thanks to Versa’s next-generation unified networking and security technology, this new managed service will also bring more flexibility, delivering connectivity from any underlying transport layer (ISP, MPLS, 4G/5G, etc.) to any application, no matter its location. For customers, this means no barriers to being connected from any remote airport, including regional sites, and expediting their operations time-to-market to just a few weeks. As the product also includes full SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) options – which merge cloud-delivered SSE security capabilities with all the SD-WAN benefits, enhancing security without compromising agility – it will additionally cover mobile endpoints, non-airport locations, and wider travel industry needs.

Fully integrated with SITA’s common-use systems for check-in and self-service (CUTE and CUSS) and SITA Flex, SITA Connect Fly also lays the foundation for real-time data processing across the broader SITA digital ecosystem, helping airlines and airports deliver more connected, efficient, and reliable services for travelers everywhere.

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