Deputy
Managing Director, Arik Air, Captain Ado Sanusi (left); Managing
Director, Chris Nduleu;
and Chairman, Sir Joseph Arumemi at the 10th
year anniversary of Arik Air in Lagos.
PHOTO: SOLA OJEDOKUN
Plans fleet expansion for Asia, Middle East routes
Economic recession notwithstanding, Arik Air has hinted of
growth in its operations and patronage, with 20 million-passenger mark
already set for December 2016.
source:http://guardian.ng
The leading airline in Nigeria, West and Central African
region, said it had in the last one decade of operations airlifted 19.5
million passengers in total.
Commemorating the 10th year anniversary in Lagos recently,
the airline said notwithstanding the tough business setting in the
country, Arik continued to record giant strides with plans to expand
connectivity to Asia, Latin America and Middle East.
The Managing Director of the Airline, Chris Ndulue, said the phenomenal growth of the airline was due to its business model, which is based on modern equipment and new technology; high standards of maintenance and connectivity amidst pressing economic challenges.
It would be recalled that Arik has had its share of crisis
in the sector, especially in the last one year. Besides claims of
indebtedness to regulatory authorities and attendant picketing, the
airline has also had issues with aviation fuel shortage and aircraft
insurance among others that affected its operations at home and abroad.
Ndulue reckoned that the economy remains very challenging to all and Arik is not left out.
According to him: “The challenge is very pronounced in
aviation today because of the dependence on foreign exchange (forex) to
do maintenance, spare parts and fuel among others. Continuous rise in
forex has continued to make things difficult for aviation fuel, which is
imported. While price of crude oil has continued to go down, aviation
fuel is rising in Nigeria.
“Aviation fuel is one area we belief government should look
into to assist the airlines. The difficulties are real and remains a
threat to the airline industry,” he said.
Nevertheless, the MD said that the airline has recorded
giant strides since it began operations with new Bombardier CRJ-900
aircraft on October 30, 2006.
Since then, Ndulue said, Arik Air has led the resurgence of
Nigerian civil aviation and is doing so by committing to being a quality
airline operating to international safety and operational standards
using new aircraft with modern technology and having high maintenance,
safety and quality standards.
“Ten years on, Arik Air has delivered on its promises of
operating the youngest fleet in West Africa with an average hull age of
7.8 years; creating employment opportunities; and partnering with top
maintenance providers such as Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Cityline and
Samco Engineering under full ‘turn-key’ maintenance service contracts
from inception to date.
“Arik Air is now the market leader and the largest carrier
in the region in terms of number of aircraft (28), capacity developed,
network and number of flights operated, having safely transported over
19 million passengers.”
From three scheduled flights between Lagos and Abuja in
2006, the airline now operates an average of 110 daily flights across a
network of 18 domestic, 10 regional and three international destinations
including Johannesburg (South Africa), London Heathrow (UK) and New
York JFK (USA).
Ndulue said further that the airline’s adherence to high
operational and quality standards is evident in its achieving the
stringent IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) four consecutive times
with the last two audits cleared successfully with no findings.
“This achievement has also earned Arik Air, Enhanced IATA
Operational Safety Audit (EIOSA) making it the only airline in the
region to have such certification.
“In the coming years, we hope to maintain our market
leadership and our growth strategy involves substantially increasing our
fleet from 28 aircraft today to 52 aircraft by 2025. On route
development, we are also looking at starting new routes and we will
update our customers with details in the New Year.”
