Having been in operation for 8 years, the management of Arik Air has interacted with the media to shed light on the significant gains the airline has chalked as well as plans for the future.
Arik Air started operations on October 30, 2006 with two (2) brand new Bombardier CRJ900 aircrafts and four daily flights between Lagos and Abuja. The airline carried just 29,363 passengers by December 31, 2006 (2-month operation) and had less than 1% of the domestic market share.
In 8 years Arik has carried a total of 15,513,407 passengers from October 30, 2006 to date. It has 27 short, medium and long range aircraft (including a Q400NG in flight from Toronto).It still has the youngest fleet in Africa with average aircraft age of 6 years with extension of operation into 19 domestic and 12 regional/intercontinental destinations. The airline remains West and Central Africa’s largest airline and fastest growing in Africa.
During October 2013-October 2014, the airline made foray into the Middle East with the inauguration of flight services from Lagos to Dubai via Abuja on July 28, 2014 becoming the first airline to fly from Abuja to Dubai. Arik became the first operator of Bombardier CRJ1000NextGen in Africa with the arrival of the first of three such aircraft on order, in July 28, 2014.
Arik Airline became the first sub-Saharan airline to introduce a mobile and tablet booking app, in a drive to further enhance customer experience also emerging as the best Airline in Africa as confirmed by the advisory board of the African Achievers Award in conjunction with the Institute of Leadership and Management, Abuja in February 2014.
Arik achieved yet another milestone in Nigerian aviation by operating the first Nigerian registered commercial aircraft to the United States of America in two decades. On March 17, 2014, the airline operated its scheduled Lagos-New York flight using an A330-200 aircraft with registration 5N-JID. The feat by Arik Air is made more outstanding given that the flight was operated by all Nigerian crew.
On August 27, 2014, Arik Air and Emirates signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop and expand their existing commercial relationship and explore further areas of co-operation. The two airlines are working towards a strong commercial relationship which would include code sharing and other key areas of airline operations. Both Arik Air and Emirates are confident of sustained mutual gains from this relationship.
Arik launched a frequent flyer programme on October 1, 2014. Arik Affinity Wings is packed full of benefits designed to reward guests for their loyalty by giving them the opportunity to earn miles on domestic, regional and long-haul flights.
Arik Air won the best airline in West Africa at the Akwaaba African Travel Market on October 26, 2014.
Clients of Arik Airline can look forward to improved services with the planned addition to its fleet of the first of two Bombardier Q400NG aircrafts.
Additional new routes: Abidjan, Lome and Libreville are scheduled to come on board.
