Arik Air To Open US Route With Wet Leased Aircraft

 18th JUNE 2007

By Rasheed Bisiriyu

Arik Air said on Saturday that it would operate the United States route with a wet leased aircraft until the airline or Nigeria received the American Category One certification.

The Managing Director, Arik Air, Mr. Mike MC Tighe, who made the statement in Lagos, after receiving two new aircraft, Boeing 737-700 from Seattle, USA, however, said that the acquisition of the new generation airplanes would facilitate the certification.

He said, “We are Working very hard with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to attain Category One and that is why an audit team from Federal Authority Administration would visit the country July this year.
“At the moment, we cannot fly direct to the US because neither the country nor the airline has the American category one.”
Under the wet lease arrangement, he said that Arik could use its colour and cabin crew with the leased pilots.
Tighe described the delivery of the new aircraft as a fulfillment of a promise made to Nigeria when the airline commenced commercial flight about two years ago.
He said, “We told Nigerians that we would bring the latest technology in aviation to the country. We have delivered on that promise with modern aircraft and hangar.”

The new aircraft, according to him, came with facilities and engine, which made it one of the best weather readers, just as its winglet attribute would enable its flight to be stable.
He noted that the acquisition of the aircraft, along with the B777 and B787 Dreamliner, would confer on Nigeria the status of a major player in the league of aviation nations.

Earlier, the Chairman, Mr. Joseph Arumeme-Johnson, had said that the airline would soon go public to enable more Nigerians to buy into the company, stressing that it was a national pride.
He said the two airplanes were some of the latest versions from Boeing, manufactured on April 26, 2007.
According to him, “This is a prelude to the B777 and B787 Dreamliner. We are getting the B777 and B787 by 2010.”

He commended the NCAA for proving the specifications for the aircraft to meet its requirements and that of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
He said that the NCAA had commenced the inspections on the B777 and B787 for the same purpose.
The airline, which is barely two years in operation, is expecting about four more aircraft by the end of the year to raise its fleet to 20.

Arik Air ordered for three 787-9s, two 777-200 LRs (Longer Range) and two 777-300ERs (Extended Range) at the delivery ceremony for the 737-700s in Seattle on April 26, 2007.
The least-price value of the new order is approximately $1.5 bn.

Source: punch

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