Arik Air

Arik Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
W3 ARA ARIK
Founded 2002
Commenced operations 30 October 2006
Hubs
Frequent-flyer program Arik Affinity Wings
Fleet size 24
Destinations 26
Company slogan Wings of Nigeria
Parent company Ojemai Investments (Nigeria)
Headquarters Arik Air Aviation Center
Murtala Muhammed International Airport
Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria
Key people
  • Sir JIA Arumemi-Ikhide (Chairman)
  • Michael Arumemi-Ikhide (Group CEO)
Website arikair.com

Arik Air is a Nigerian airline operating a domestic, regional and international flight network. It operates mainly from two hubs at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.[1] Arik Air's head office is the Arik Air Aviation Center on the grounds of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State.[2]

History

On 3 April 2006, Arik Air took over the former Nigeria Airways facilities in Lagos,[3] some three years after its liquidation, and began reconstruction work. On 14 June 2006, Arik took delivery of 2 new Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft to fly domestic routes throughout Nigeria and, within the African continent from Summer 2006, 2 ex-United Airlines Boeing 737–300s and 3 50 seat Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft.

In August 2006, the Federal Ministry of Aviation granted Arik Air authorisation to fly to Trinidad and Tobago and Amsterdam, London and Madrid in Europe. Furthermore, the airline then planned to fly to Atlanta, Miami, and Houston in the United States and Birmingham in the United Kingdom. On 30 October 2006, Arik Air began scheduled passenger flights with four flights between Lagos and Abuja using CRJ 900 aircraft. Flight operations began to Calabar on 15 November 2006 and services to Benin City and Enugu started on 7 January 2007.[4] The airline is wholly owned by Ojemai Investments.[1]

The Nigerian government set a deadline of 30 April 2007 for all airlines operating in the country to re-capitalise or be grounded in an effort to ensure better services and safety. The airline satisfied the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s criteria in terms of re-capitalisation and was re-registered for operation.

On 4 April 2008, Arik Air was given permission to fly to the United States by the US Department of Transportation.[5] Arik Air started international operations to London-Heathrow on 15 December 2008, using an Airbus A340-500 aircraft damp-leased from Hi Fly.[6] It added Johannesburg on 1 June 2009,[7] New York JFK on 30 November 2009,[8] and Dubai on 28 July 2014.

Subsidiary airline Arik Niger (IATA code: Q9) commenced operations in April 2009, but was shut down in February 2010.[9]

Arik Air transported its 5 millionth passenger on 6 August 2010[10] and it transported its 10 millionth passenger on 18 September 2012, both on flights between Johannesburg and Lagos.[11]

On 20 September 2012, the airline cancelled all its domestic operations after aviation officials raided the airline's office in Lagos, Nigeria.[12] Flights resumed on 23 September.[13]

Arik Air had placed an order for five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which was cancelled in 2011.[14] Rumours have spread that Arik Air converted an order for two Boeing 747-8I aircraft back into an order for two 777-300ERs in 2013, however, no such cancellation has materialised, nor was the order of two 777-300ER aircraft confirmed by Boeing. The order for 2 747-8I aircraft still stands and is still listed by the Boeing company.[15][16]

Corporate affairs

Arik Air financial and operational performance [17]
Year Passengers flown (million) Cargo carried (thousand) Turnover (NGNm) Expenditure (NGNm) Net profit(+)/Loss(-) (NGNm)
2007Increase0.66 - - - -
2008Increase1.12 - - - -
2009Increase2.00 - - - -
2010Increase2.30 - - - -
2011Decrease2.14 - - - -
2012Increase2.32 - - - -
2013Increase2.75 - - - -

Destinations

Main article: Arik Air destinations

Arik Air has built up a strong domestic network. It covers mainly Nigerian and several other Western African destinations.

Fleet

Arik Air A330-200
Arik Air Boeing 737–800

The Arik Air fleet includes the following aircraft as of June 2015:[18][19]

Arik Air fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A330-200 2 2 30 187 217
Boeing 737-700 9 — 12
16
0		 119
132
149		 131
148
149		 3 planes are ETOPS-equipped
Boeing 737-800 4 8 16
20		 132
126		 148
146
Boeing 747-8I — 2 — — — Deliveries start in 2016
Boeing 787-9 — 7 — — — Deliveries start in 2016
Bombardier CRJ900 4 — 10 66 76
Bombardier CRJ1000 1 2 0 100 100
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 4 2 10 62 72
Total 24 21 — —

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 27 March 2007. p. 77.
  2. ↑ "New aircraft to make arik air the largest commercial carrier in nigeria arik air reflects on six months of flying “the new experience”." Arik Air. 28 March 2007. Archived from Retrieved on 8 September 2010. "For more information, please contact: Gbemiga Ogunieye, Head of Communications, Arik Air Ltd, Arik Air Aviation Centre, Murtula Muhammed Domestic Airport, PO Box 10468, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria."
  3. ↑ "About Arik Air." Arik Air. 15 June 2006. Retrieved on 3 December 2010.
  4. ↑ Arik Air website retrieved 4 February 2007
  5. ↑ "Notice of Action Taken re: Arik Air Limited". U.S. Department of Transportation. 4 April 2008.
  6. ↑ "Arik Air's First Flight to London Heathrow a Success". Arik Air. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  7. ↑ Arik Air arrives in Johannesburg, Arik Air, 2 June 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  8. ↑ Arik makes historic flight into New York, Vanguard (Nigerian newspaper), dd. 1 December 2009
  9. ↑ http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=eco_article&id_article=69866[]
  10. ↑ "Arik Air reaches milestone carrying 5 millionth passenger during summer period". African Aviation. 10 September 2010. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  11. ↑ http://www.arikair.com/ng/MEDIA-CENTRE/Press-Releases/Arik-Air-reaches-10-millionth-passenger-milestone.aspx
  12. ↑ "Nigeria's Arik Air cancels domestic flights". BBC News. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  13. ↑ "Nigeria's Arik Air resumes flight operations today". Nigeria Vanguard. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/displaystandardreport.cfm?cboCurrentModel=747&optReportType=AllModels&cboAllModel=747&ViewReportF=View+Report
  16. ↑ Boeing 747-8#Orders and deliveries
  17. ↑ http://www.anna.aero/2014/07/30/arik-airs-traffic-grows-19-2013-dubai-international-destination-12/
  18. ↑ "Our Fleet". Arik Air. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  19. ↑ "Arik Air fleet". Planespotters.net., retrieved 12 February 2016

External links

Media related to Arik Air at Wikimedia Commons

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