Posted by By CHRISTIAN ITA on
The scheduled arrival tomorrow of Arik Air aircraft in Nigeria is causing excitement in the aviation industry, with industry stakeholders and passengers claiming that its entry marks a turning point in the history of the industry in the country.
The scheduled arrival tomorrow of Arik Air aircraft in Nigeria is causing excitement in the aviation industry, with industry stakeholders and passengers claiming that its entry marks a turning point in the history of the industry in the country.
Arik Air, which bought over the moribund Nigeria Airways, is set to commence operations in the country on October 17 by first flying the Lagos-Abuja route with its brand new Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft.
Besides offering Nigerians the rare opportunity of flying brand new aircraft in the domestic route, the airline revealed it would be maintaining a moderate fare structure.
The Managing Director of the airline, Mr. Alex van Elk had, at an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos Thursday, said its promotional fare on the Lagos-Abuja route would be N10.000.
Currently, airlines charge between N12.000 and N15.000 on the route.
Elk further disclosed that the airline, which would have three brand new Bombardier CRJ900 aircrafts in its fleet, would subsequently expand its services to cover such routes as Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Benin City, Enugu, Jos, Maiduguri, Kano and Calabar.
Other aircraft that it would be bringing into the country are two 50-seater Bombardier CRJ200, two Boeing 737-322 and two Hawker Executive Jets 800XP.
Apart from domestic flights, the airline would fly sub regional routes including Dakar, Senegal, Accra and Malabo routes, which are currently being plied by several Nigerian airlines including Virgin Nigeria, Bellview Airlines, Aerocontractors and Afrijet.
It has also received traffic rights to Trinidad and Tobago, London, Madrid, Amsterdam, Miami, Atlanta and Houston in the United States.
Owned by Sir Joseph Akinola Arumemi-Johnson, the airline has about 240 staff in its employ with Nigerians constituting over 90 percent of the number.