Arik Air

Arik Air
IATA
W3		 ICAO
ARA		 Callsign
ARIK
Founded 2002
Commenced operations 30 October 2006
Hubs
Frequent-flyer program Arik Affinity Wings
Fleet size 25
Destinations 27
Company slogan Wings of Nigeria
Parent company Ojemai Investments (Nigeria)
Headquarters Arik Air Aviation Center
Murtala Muhammed International Airport
Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria
Key people
  • Sir JIA Arumemi-Ikhide (Chairman)
  • Michael Arumemi-Ikhide (Group CEO)
Website Arik Air

Arik Air is a Nigerian airline operating a domestic, regional and international flight network. It operates mainly from two hubs at Murtala Mohammed 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. On 30 October 2006, Arik 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 transported its 5 millionth passenger on 6 August 2010[6] and it transported its 10 millionth passenger on 18 September 2012, both on flights beteween Johannesburg and Lagos.[7]

On 20 September 2012, the airline cancelled all its domestic operations after aviation officials raided the airline's office in Lagos, Nigeria.[8] Flights resumed on 23 September.[9]

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.

In August 2006, the Federal Ministry of Aviation granted Arik Air authorisation to fly to Trinidad and Tobago and Amsterdam, London, 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.

Arik Air started international operations to London-Heathrow on 15 December 2008, using an Airbus A340-500 aircraft damp-leased from Hi Fly.[10] It added Johannesburg on 1 June 2009,[11] New York JFK on 30 November 2009.,[12] 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.[13]

Fleet

An Arik Air Airbus A340-500 (owned and operated by Hi Fly) on final approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
An Arik Air Boeing 737–800 on final approach to London Heathrow Airport.

The Arik Air fleet includes the following aircraft as of September 2014:[14][15]

Arik Air fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A330-200 2 — 30 187 217 Dry-leased from Pembroke Group
Used on routes to London and Dubai
Airbus A340-500 2 — 36 201 237 Owned and operated by Hi Fly
Used only on the Lagos-New York route
Boeing 737-700 8 — 12
16
0		 119
132
149		 131
148
149		 4 owned, 2 dry-leased from GECAS, 2 dry-leased from Boeing
3 planes are ETOPS-equipped
Boeing 737-800 4 8 16
20		 132
126		 148
146		 2 owned, 2 dry-leased from GECAS
Boeing 747-8I — 2 — — —
Boeing 787-9 — 7 — — —
Bombardier CRJ900ER 4 — 10 66 76
Bombardier CRJ1000 1 2 0 100 100
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 4 2 10 62 72
Total 25 22

Arik Air had also placed an order for five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which was cancelled in 2011.[16] 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.[17][18]

Financial and operational performance

Arik Air financial and operational performance [19]
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 - - - -

See also


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "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 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.
  7. ↑ http://www.arikair.com/ng/MEDIA-CENTRE/Press-Releases/Arik-Air-reaches-10-millionth-passenger-milestone.aspx
  8. ↑ "Nigeria's Arik Air cancels domestic flights". BBC News. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "Nigeria's Arik Air resumes flight operations today". Nigeria Vanguard. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  10. ↑ "Arik Air's First Flight to London Heathrow a Success". Arik Air. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  11. ↑ Arik Air arrives in Johannesburg, Arik Air, 2 June 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  12. ↑ Arik makes historic flight into New York, Vanguard (Nigerian newspaper), dd. 1 December 2009
  13. ↑ http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=eco_article&id_article=69866[]
  14. ↑ "Our Fleet". Arik Air. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  15. ↑ Arik Air at CH Aviation fleet list, retrieved 22 september 2014
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/displaystandardreport.cfm?cboCurrentModel=747&optReportType=AllModels&cboAllModel=747&ViewReportF=View+Report
  18. ↑ Boeing 747-8#Orders and deliveries
  19. ↑ http://www.anna.aero/2014/07/30/arik-airs-traffic-grows-19-2013-dubai-international-destination-12/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arik Air.