Arik Air's maiden flight Lagos to London Heathrow Terminal 2 was successfully launched today from Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Flight W3 001 was flagged off at the scheduled departure time of 12pm and after taxi, was airborne at 1237pm arriving at London Heathrow at 530pm. Today marks the first international flight for Arik Air since commencing operations. The airline opened check-in counters at 8 am (4 hours in advance) and closed the counters 90 minutes before departure, to ensure their guests had sufficient time for immigration, customs formalities and security screening.
On board, Arik Air offered a spacious layout on its brand new A340-500 aircraft in an enhanced 36 fully lie-flat 'seat-bed' in Business First cabin (Premier cabin), and 201 seats in Economy Class, offering more comfort and legroom than any airline on this route. Other new features on board this aircraft included in-seat massager and a bar and lounge area for Premier passengers to socialise and relax, mood lighting, Audio and Video on Demand IFE in both cabins and large personal monitor screens. The extra wide Premier seats and 50 more leg room in the Economy cabin, gourmet cuisine and a mix of Nigerian and International cabin crew added to a host of other comforts offered in the cabin.
The daily flight schedules are convenient with Arik Air flight W3001 departing Lagos at 12pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, arriving London at 530pm; on Thursdays and Sundays, departing Lagos at 1025am and arriving London at 355pm, Tuesdays departing at 920am and arriving London at 250pm and Fridays at 1110am arriving Heathrow at 440pm. Return flight W3002 will depart daily from London Heathrow Terminal 2 at 1005pm arriving Lagos at 530am the next morning.
Arik Air's General Manager Sales & Marketing Suraj Sundaram says "As a reward to our valued guests, Arik Air is offering flexible ticket fares which will enable those travelling from our other hubs- Abuja and Port Harcourt- to fly free to Lagos and connect our Lagos -London flight. In essence, this is a saving of approximately $300 since they will only be paying the Lagos to London fare. For guests travelling from other parts of the country we are offering lower fares to Lagos, substantially discounted from our standard fares, as an added incentive. We believe that our guests deserve better value if they are travelling international on Arik Air services and we are best suited to offer this through our network of 18 airports in the region".
Tickets are available for sale and can be purchased through the various city and airport ticket offices of the airline and select travel agents. Full details can be obtained on the website, www.arikair.com or by calling the hotline. 01-2799999 .