Captplaystatn #923
"Could someone from "the compound" please answer my questions on post 923, as I fear they will vanish to 2nd last page courtesy of the talcum powder Mama "
I left Arik a year ago utterly frustrated by everything Nigerian. Late pay. Fighting to be reimbursed for expenses. Fighting for tickets home (to work never seemed to be a problem). Refusing to depart until my crew receives their night stop pay (the only leverage you will ever have). Ground workers trying to load old car engines in the cargo hold (full of oil??). Pedestrians walking across the runway while you are taking off or landing. Controllers lying about the weather. Pilots lying about their altitude and or their location. Unreliable navaids. Unbelievably dirty, bug infested motels. Constant threat of West African Malaria (the worst kind--it can kill you). Fire-trap base housing. Constant roar of generators (power outages)...
What I gave up: Some really good times with my fellow expats. Cold beer at the 'tree bar' (a parking lot with plastic tables and a few trees for shade). Late night talks over Don Simon and Sangria mix. I made some lifelong friends there. Some Nigerian pilots who were great people.
Someone else will have to answer your other questions, as I have been away too long to have current info.
In response to your "desperation" Captain PS3 ...
And as a current bloke plying the trade at Arik? I could give it to you short .... but i'll give it to you long.
"All of those expat friends we sat under the tree bar with are gone." The ones that any of us would like to remember have hit their tolerance level and have found better work elsewhere..as 221340 has i'm sure?
my response to 221340:
Everything stated in the "negative" above still remains exactly as you left it.
Everything that you stated in the "positive" no longer exists on the scale it once was.
Arik not only has had a revolving door of expats but it has had a revolving door of expat pilot personalities. Those that have come and/or stay are willing to make slight concessions as you have seen listed in prior postings. Most latecomers to arik are not necessarily desparate pilots but pilots who enjoy time off. Or they enjoy a little cash and don't mind a little B.S. ??
People don't realise that to most arik staff( non-expat ) the company "arik" is basically a game to be played. A game that involves a lot of bluffs, slight of hand, B.S. and power moves. Those expats who make it work are those who merely have the energy to put a smile on their face and show up. As i have stated before, "It is completely out of your control and it is what you make of it."
BJuice
