Trip Report: Arik Air, Lagos to Calabar, Nigeria (April 2018)

Trip Report: Arik Air - Lagos to Calabar, Nigeria

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When traveling domestically in Nigeria, there are a couple of options to choose from.  Originally, Arik Air had been the leader but then over the years’ late departures, late arrivals, and cancelled flights brought their reputation down.  Meanwhile, other carriers such as AirPeace (check out that review here) came up and took Arik’s place.  Arik has recently refocused itself and started to become better so I wanted to give them a try when traveling domestically from Lagos to Calabar.

Booking a flight in Nigeria can either be done online, directly at the airport, or through ticketing agents.  I bought mine directly at the airport as it is easier regarding cash payments.  The service at the airport was extremely slow and inefficient, they did not seem in any hurry to issue the ticket.  Once the ticket was issued, they gave me a hand written receipt that included my reservation code and I received a text regarding my booking but no hard copy print out of my reservation.  Once I went home, I went online to Arik’s website to manage my booking and this is where I could see the booking but could not email the booking to myself; it was not a big deal but an unnecessary hassle.

My flight was scheduled to depart Lagos at 11:15a and arrive into Calabar at 12:45p.  The domestic terminal is divided with AirPeace on one side and Arik on the other so I went into the Arik side to check-in my bags.  The check-in counters were not busy so I went directly up to check-in my bags.  Recently, Arik acquired smaller aircraft to use on their domestic and regional services.  Maybe it was because a smaller aircraft was being used, or maybe they just wanted extra money, but Arik was being really strict about how much baggage to bring onboard and how much to check-in.  I normally travel with AirPeace, who have a fleet of bigger planes and do not worry as much, but this was my first time with Arik and they were very strict and it cost me a lot of excess baggage fees.

Boarding was supposed to commence at 10:30a, but that came and went with no announcement and no indication of boarding.  At 11am, they announced boarding for the flight.  There was no process for the boarding, passengers just came through and presented their boarding passes, went through security pat downs, and boarded the first bus/car/vehicle to take them to the airplane.  The operating aircraft was a Dash Q400 with a 2-2 seat configuration.  Once onboard, the aircraft looked clean and modern (although later one many cockroaches appeared from the bottom of the aircraft, so it wasn’t as clean as it looked).  Passengers boarded and took their seats, the boarding door was closed, manual safety demonstrations were conducted, and we taxied to the runway.  Our departure was a bit delayed because the flight attendant went by every passenger to ensure their phone was just in airplane mode, but was completely turned off; in fact, he stood there while you turned the phone off. 

The seat itself was comfortable and decent enough for the 1hr 15m flight.  The legroom was also good, not tight but definitely not substantial either.  The seat had a tray table in the middle, a pocket with the safety card on top, and another pocket for your personal items on the bottom.  In my previous domestic flights with other airlines, as soon as we passed 10,000 feet the flight attendants were up and started their inflight service.  Here, the inflight service began well into the flight even though it was the same service.  In all domestic flights, airlines pass out a snack box which contains juice, a muffin, a napkin, biscuits, and a mint.  As they are passing out the boxes, you are also offered a glass of water.  While it is not substantial, it is a nice gesture and the boxes are appreciated; however, the service was lacking as everything was conducted without smiling or being pleasant.  After the service was conducted and they came by to collect the trash, the rest of the flight was uneventful and we eventually started our descent into Calabar.  We landed and taxied to the stand behind schedule, but then again every domestic flight I have taken in Nigeria has not been on time.

Overall, it was an interesting experience with ArikAir.  I was expecting the worst, because that is what others had told me to expect.  The flight left generally on time and the overall experience was alright.  If I compare it to other domestic airlines, however, then Arik falls short.  The customer service was definitely lacking at Arik, they were very nitpicky regarding baggage and carryon, and overall their service was not as pleasant as other domestic options.  While generally they do offer more competitive rates on their tickets, it is not that much of a difference and thus not an incentive to choose them.  This coupled with their overall lack of service means that in the future I probably would not choose Arik for my domestic flight options.