Arik begins flight to Heathrow
07.14.2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
One of Nigeria ’s domestic carriers, Arik Air, has been granted a slot to fly into Heathrow Airport in London and would soon begin operation to that major European city.
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This was disclosed in a press statement from the airline, signed by the media officer, Adebanjo Ola, who said that the news of the approval of the slot was made known by the Chairman of Arik, Sir Joseph Arumemi Johnson, weekend.
The statement said that the British aviation authorities have finally granted the Nigerian flag carrier the slot at the Heathrow Airport and direct flight will commence in November this year.
“I am happy to announce to you that we have been granted four slots at Heathrow Airport but we are still pushing for more so that we can fly to London every day of the week”, the chairman was quoted as saying.
According to the statement, discussions had been going on between Nigeria and the UK government on the need to allow the Nigerian carriers that have been designated on the Lagos-London route, to fly into Heathrow instead of Gatwick or Stanstead Airports.
“In preparation for its first international flight to London , the airline will soon take delivery of three brand new Airbus A340-500 aircraft which will start arriving this October;” he said adding that the first two of wide bodied aircraft are due in Nigeria in October while the third would come in December.
“We are already discussing the configuration of the aircraft with Airbus. We expect to have 30 first class, premium class and 230 economy seat configuration”, the chairman added.
The statement said that to cement the business relationship between Arik Air and the France-based aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, it is expected that the latest plane in its service, A380, would be coming to Nigeria on a demonstration flight especially for Arik Air when the A340-500 were being delivered.
The airline also stated that an Airbus team which was made up of David Dufrenois, Vice President Sales, North and West Africa ; and John Parkinson, Area Sales Director, Customer Affairs was at Arik Air on October 10, 2007, to do a presentation on the A350 XWB and A380 aircraft.
“The presentation by the Airbus team dealt on the Airbus family, the capabilities and basic advantages of the aircraft over its competitors.”
