I think Air Nigeria will wipe the floor with Arik. Why?
1) They flew to LGW not LHR
2) In the last 12 months of the route, even with a horrible hard product the average LF was 77.3%.
This includes the peaks and troughs throughout the year.
3) They can take you further than London (even into Europe with their interline partners).
4) They withdrew because of losses because the wet-lease was too expensive, not due to loads.
5) Even on the JNB route they gave SAA a run for their money and had a slightly bigger market share at the time of suspension.
Unfortunately, due to my distance from the action, can't confirm news about the B737, but I'm sure Arik will be history(unless they change their strategy on the route) if Air Nigeria flies to London. Hard product is not everything.