Life at Arik Air
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Life at Arik Air
I know this may have been discussed before but can't seem to find any recent and relevant info. I am wandering if anyone out in Lagos working for Arik Air at the moment has any comments. I am especially interested in the new compound, way of life, fellow ex pats... all information would be gratefully appreciated.
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Did you guys really search anything?
It only took me about less than a minute
It only took me about less than a minute
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asacrj wrt
Yes we do!
The thread you've pointed to was started on 18th May '08 and runs (across 3 pages) until 27th July '08... and (aside from one reasonably informative reply), consists mostly of verbiage and rant about the apparent good & bad points of Nigeria(ns), and therein it contains very little specifics about 'Life at ArikAir'.... which is, after all, the opening title of this thread.
Things are most certainly quite a bit different now than how they were at the end of July'08... The price of fuel has been up and down faster than a whores drawers; Numerous airlines have gone bust; Much of the world is in financial turmoil & economic recession.
So, wrt 'Life at ArikAir', what some of us would like to know is (Nb. this is not an exhaustive list and is in no particular order):
Nb. Those wishing to make generalisations about Nigeria(ns) need not respond.
GAFA Pilot
Did you guys really search anything?
The thread you've pointed to was started on 18th May '08 and runs (across 3 pages) until 27th July '08... and (aside from one reasonably informative reply), consists mostly of verbiage and rant about the apparent good & bad points of Nigeria(ns), and therein it contains very little specifics about 'Life at ArikAir'.... which is, after all, the opening title of this thread.
Things are most certainly quite a bit different now than how they were at the end of July'08... The price of fuel has been up and down faster than a whores drawers; Numerous airlines have gone bust; Much of the world is in financial turmoil & economic recession.
So, wrt 'Life at ArikAir', what some of us would like to know is (Nb. this is not an exhaustive list and is in no particular order):
- What's the latest wrt accommodation (there's been mention of some sort of dedicated compound being built)?
- Is the accommodation, clean, tidy, safe, (pics)?
- What's the location of the accommodation like (pics?) and / or are there places to go? Eat out? etc...
- Transport to and from the airport. Is it reliable? Safe? How long does it take?
- What's the work / rosters like? Sectors per day? Length of working day? Hours per month? Number of days off? etc...
- Is the fuel policy sensible or is it just 'fumes' on arrival?
- Are the pax loads good?
- What's the latest news / developments on the company route structure?
- What's the management culture like?
- Is 'safety a priority'?
- Are the aircraft being well maintained?
- Is there a proper safety reporting system, aircraft fitted with QAR's, etc?
- How long does it really take to get a Nigerian licence validation?
- What's the training like?
- How long before one gets On Line / Line Checked?
- The Master Contract makes mention (but without amounts) of a 2 year bond for 'Line Training capability'. Anybody care to explain?
- Are crews paid on time?
- How much off-the-top do the agencies take (and / or is it better to be employed directly by Arik, or through an Agency)?
- How does the time-on / time-off rotation work in practice?
- What's it like personal safety wise?
- What's the cost of living like in Lagos / Nigeria?
- Are the cabin crew good looking?
- What's the cost of a nice large cold 'Star' or 'Gulder'?
- Which is more lethal, mosies or night fighters?
- etc, etc, etc.
Nb. Those wishing to make generalisations about Nigeria(ns) need not respond.
GAFA Pilot
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asacrj
Did you ask and got answer to all these question before joining your current employer???
If you'd like, I could explain the rationale behind each and every one of those Q's, but wherein the general idea is to garner some info about lifestyle & living arrangements, work patterns, remuneration, and safety, etc (and in case you didn't get it, those last 3 Q's above the "etc, etc, etc's"... in that list are by way of a little joke... that is, err, unless you do happen to have the answers to those?!
).When you think about the questions & background checks that a prospective employer conducts upon a prospective employee, it would seem only prudent that an employee does the same wrt the employer. You might call it 'risk management by both sides' ?!
Perhaps the worst possible outcome, for both the employer & employee alike, is for someone to travel to some place far from home, no doubt full of hopes & aspirations (but maybe without the full picture?!) only to find that it doesn't fit with what they were hoping for.
It's quite possible that they'll then feel let down, disillusioned, unhappy... and thence can't wait to run back from whence they came. Staff turnover then gets high (which is expensive for a whole host of reasons), which then puts pressure on those remaining (i.e. they've got to take up the slack), morale then takes a dive, and before you know it the whole thing can be teetering towards spiralling inwards,
I'm sure that those at Arik have experienced the highs & lows of the start-up phase, and are probably now going through the pains of expansion. The hard part is to keep the momentum of the start-up phase, whilst consolidating what is there (building on solid foundations), plus keeping standards (and morale) high. That takes good management, and by all accounts the team at Arik are a good team (indeed they wouldn't have got this far, this quick, if they weren't! ). Imho, it also requires picking the right people, from top to bottom, hanging on to them, and motivating them.... which in essence is what 'teamwork' is all about.
I suppose, in summary, one could say that it's much better to have a team of dedicated / high-calbre professionals whom are where they want to be, instead of those whom are only involved as a short-term'ism, and / or whom arrive without the full picture, and / or whom arrive wearing rose tinted glasses... (which is somewhat ironic given that my excellent Serengeti sunglasses are indeed 'rose tinted'
)Many years ago, I used to work at the BA low-cost airline 'Go', a truly inspirational place with some of the best esprit de corps that it's ever been my privilege and pleasure to be involved with... a place where one of the overriding policies was about being 'Open & Honest'.... they also had a truly excellent scheme under the title of 'Go MAD' (MAD = Make A Difference) which encouraged the staff (both in house and also those of main service providers) to be actively involved and to make suggestions to improve things.
If ever any of you want a good read, then pick up the book called 'Nuts' (ISBN: 978-0767901840) - all 'Go' management were given a copy - it's the story about Southwest Airlines,... Nuff said!
I've digressed a fair bit in this reply but I hope you'll indulge the genuine good-intent that it's meant to portray?
Join Date: May 2005
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"come on down man"
Too many questions!!!
Why not do just what this fella did 2 months ago! He came to lagos on his own to see Arik, got an interview and made it through. His just completed sim and about to get online.
Loads of nice people here at Arik and believe me Lagos is not Mumbai.
B
Why not do just what this fella did 2 months ago! He came to lagos on his own to see Arik, got an interview and made it through. His just completed sim and about to get online.
Loads of nice people here at Arik and believe me Lagos is not Mumbai.
B
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Oyibo,
For some reason, everyone always brings up the armed guards and this continues the "myth" that everyone needs armed guards to move around Lagos.
Lagos CAN be dangerous, mostly for those people who are only here for 24hrs or don't know their way around. Which is why practically ALL the airlines provide guards as they should under "duty of care". This then creates the "myth" that all expats in LOS use armed guards.
If all the expats in LOS needed armed guards, there wouldn't be enough to go round! Have you seen foreigners "whites" moving around with no guards whatsoever? I have - every day I go out. Just spend an hour on a busy Lagos road looking at the passing vehicles and I'm sure you should very easily count more than a hundred expats in vehicles with no armed guards whatsoever.
We also have to remember that sometimes, it's the security companies who talk up the risks in order to keep their businesses going. - I'm not saying there isn't danger but it's sometimes blown out of proportion. I recently visited JNB and when I wanted to take a taxi (which I regularly do in LOS), my Nigerian friend who lives there advised against it. What does that say? That JNB is more dangerous than LOS? I couldn't say based on my 3 days there.
Some expats on this board have replied that they enjoyed the place, others didn't! Each to his own.
I have been here for 3 years now, and move with armed guards very rarely - mostly after dark. I just make the decision not to go out after dark. My boss, the CFO, lots of pilots and engineers and other ancillary staff in my company who are all whites DON'T constantly move around with guards - and they are all white. Heck I don't think the ARIK CEO has armed guards (I stand to be corrected - I don't work at ARIK). We are constantly sent SMS's from security with any ongoing black spots and which areas of town to avoid. Each then makes this/her own decision on how to proceed.
In conclusion, LOS CAN have it's hairy moments but that everyone takes the necessary precautions as we would anywhere else in the world. PHC is another matter.
Sorry can't contribute anything about the lifestyle at ARIK as I don't work there.
For some reason, everyone always brings up the armed guards and this continues the "myth" that everyone needs armed guards to move around Lagos.
Lagos CAN be dangerous, mostly for those people who are only here for 24hrs or don't know their way around. Which is why practically ALL the airlines provide guards as they should under "duty of care". This then creates the "myth" that all expats in LOS use armed guards.
If all the expats in LOS needed armed guards, there wouldn't be enough to go round! Have you seen foreigners "whites" moving around with no guards whatsoever? I have - every day I go out. Just spend an hour on a busy Lagos road looking at the passing vehicles and I'm sure you should very easily count more than a hundred expats in vehicles with no armed guards whatsoever.
We also have to remember that sometimes, it's the security companies who talk up the risks in order to keep their businesses going. - I'm not saying there isn't danger but it's sometimes blown out of proportion. I recently visited JNB and when I wanted to take a taxi (which I regularly do in LOS), my Nigerian friend who lives there advised against it. What does that say? That JNB is more dangerous than LOS? I couldn't say based on my 3 days there.
Some expats on this board have replied that they enjoyed the place, others didn't! Each to his own.
I have been here for 3 years now, and move with armed guards very rarely - mostly after dark. I just make the decision not to go out after dark. My boss, the CFO, lots of pilots and engineers and other ancillary staff in my company who are all whites DON'T constantly move around with guards - and they are all white. Heck I don't think the ARIK CEO has armed guards (I stand to be corrected - I don't work at ARIK). We are constantly sent SMS's from security with any ongoing black spots and which areas of town to avoid. Each then makes this/her own decision on how to proceed.
In conclusion, LOS CAN have it's hairy moments but that everyone takes the necessary precautions as we would anywhere else in the world. PHC is another matter.
Sorry can't contribute anything about the lifestyle at ARIK as I don't work there.
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Just got an email Friday that they are not hiring for the CRJ. The October 16th assessments have been cancelled. Are they not getting more -900's in 2009? Does anyone know what gives????
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Spinproof, Hi, CRJ positions currently filled up but might resume after line training of the new recruits are completed. Most are locals out of fresh training and all moved directly on the CRJ's.
Concerning more CRJ aircrafts arriving, its mostly the Dash8 I know about in that category.
outofhereoyibo waaz up!!! long time
Concerning more CRJ aircrafts arriving, its mostly the Dash8 I know about in that category.
outofhereoyibo waaz up!!! long time