Arik Air is a Nigerian-owned airline that began operation in the mid-2000s. The airline principally runs from the main airports of Abuja and Lagos to the rest of the world. Well, not exactly to the rest of the world but to a sizeable part of West Africa (which is part of the “rest of the world”). How much do you know about the airline? A little? Not to worry, we have you covered. Here are is everything you need to know about Arik Air.
Arik air beginning
Arik Air began operation in Nigeria in 2006. There is no way you can talk about the history of Arik Air without commencing from the demise of Nigerian Airways. Yes, Nigeria Airways. Wonder where Nigeria Airways is? The national carrier closed shut in 2003 after years of steady decline which saw them fall from flying 2.1 million passengers a day to just 10,000 in their waning days.
In its last days, Nigerian airways had only one plane, accounted for just six percent of domestic flights and one percent of international flights involving Nigeria and owe over half a billion dollars in debts.
Virgin Atlantic Airways was contracted by the Nigerian government to take over the airline for which they created Virgin Nigeria, but it was Arik Air that took over the facilities of Nigerian Airways. With Virgin Nigeria out of operation, Arik remains the sole replacement of the Nigerian Airway.
Old Routes: The airline is used to fly to the whole world
The airline used to fly to the south African capital of Johannesburg, and as far as London, plus the fact that they have had the license to fly into the United States (Atlanta and New York City), Trinidad and Tobago, Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and Dubai. They no longer fly to these places.
See why Arik Air fired 300 staffers
Arik Air announced in February 2017 that they are suspending their international operations in order “to enable us find permanent solution facing our passengers as it will enable us to carry out a thorough assessment of the situation.”
More than three years later, they are still working on it.
Arik current routes and fleet
Arik Air is the largest locally-owned airline in Nigeria
To their credit, they have a strong presence in Africa as they go beyond West African cities of Accra, Abidjan, Cotonou, Freetown, Banjul, and Dakar (where they plied), to cities in Central Africa such as Douala, Luanda and Libreville. Their presence in Nigeria is also solid as they fly to and fro Abuja, Asaba, Benin City, Calabar, Enugu, Gombe, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Warri, and Yola.
They run a fleet of 22 planes (correct as of March 2021) and are expecting the delivery of 17 aircraft. Their fleet is no big deal when you judge with the big airlines in Europe, America, and Asia. But in Nigeria, and even Africa, it is a big deal. Arik Air is not just number one in Nigeria, they are number eight in Africa. Only Egypt Air, South African Airways, Royal Air (Morocco), Ethiopian Airlines, Tunisair, Kenya Airways, and Air Algerie are bigger fleet-wise.
To further help you understand how big Arik Air is in relation to other Nigerian airways, we would ask you to look at the number of planes they have retired. They have retired 15 planes between 2011 and 2017; they have more retired planes than Medview and Dana Airlines have planes put together.
The Arik fleet is made up of various types of Boeings, CRJs, Airbuses, Bombardiers, and the Hawk with Boeing 737-700NG being the largest with eight planes. According to their site, the oldest plane in their fleet was manufactured in 2001 while the latest is a product of 2013, giving their fleet a rough average age of fourteen years.
There are causes to doubt the figures on their site but one reason to believe them is the fact that Arik has the highest number of retired planes in Nigeria, having retired more than a dozen planes since the inception of the company and there is no record of any of their plane grounded due to its airworthiness.
Arik safety record
Following, the somewhat bad record Nigerian airlines have with crashes, Arik stands as one airline that has never experienced a clash in its over fifteen years history. Perhaps this is due to the fact that their planes are plentier and younger and quicker retirement plan than their rivals in the industry.
God is Good Mobility – All the facts you need to know
SaharaReporters reported on November 13, 2016, however, that an Arik aircraft the Boeing 737 with registration number 5N-MJD which departed the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos lost one of its engines mid-air just sixty miles into its flight to Jos. The plane was forced to initiate an emergency landing in Lagos. Such was the height of the problem that the report says that the plane on landing was unable to taxi on the runway and had to be towed by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
This was the closest they came to crashing and hopefully the last.
How to book online
To book Arik Air online, click the “search” icon to search for the flight to a destination of your choice and you have Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Ivory Coast at your beck. Now, select flights that are scheduled for your comfort convenience. Next, book your flights and pay online with your card. There is also the option to book on-hold and pay later.
Alternatively, you can use a travel agency to book your flight. In this case, you are not confined to the availability of Arik Air. They get on to any available flight.
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