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Arik Air Pilots ?

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Arik Air Pilots ?

Old 14th Mar 2009, 00:57
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Arik Air Pilots ?

Can anyone give me an email address to the recruitment dept or the fleet manager of Arik Air?

I am an English B737 Captain - are you guys recruiting?
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Old 14th Mar 2009, 15:55
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Technical and Engineering Recruitment Agency - Protec Technical

JOB TYPE: Permanent
JOB TITLE: 2009 B737NG Captains
REFERENCE: J001900
LOCATION: Lagos
SALARY TO:
CONTACT: Contact: Neilsen Wallis
DESCRIPTION:

A rapidly expanding African Airline are seeking type rated B737NG Captains. Please note our client has recruited enough B737NG FO for the time being.
This airline offers an attractive rotation of 8 weeks on and 4 weeks off with flight to domicile location provided. You can also expect secure bachelor accommodation, meals, laundry service & daily travel to be provided.
To qualify you must be Type Rated on B737 with a minimum 500 Hours on Type.
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Old 17th Mar 2009, 23:54
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Bf,
Maybe they'd prefer to employ someone who can write in English as that's the national language in Nigeria
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 05:57
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Boeingflyer

Boeingflyer,

Welcome to PPRUNE and congratulations for your 1st post on this forum!

If you had done your homework (as it seems you aren't directly related to Arik anyways), you'd know that Arik does not do its own maintenance, it is contracted to Lufthansa Tecnik.

I've never heard of any problems relating to pay.

I suggest you shed some light on your exact identity and share with us whatever direct experience you've had with them.

And yes, it DOES sound like you're seriously english-challenged from the looks of your post.
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 10:55
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Well i just got back from Nigeria two days back and as far as i'm concerned Arik is doing very very well,they're booming and have got more than 10 planes coming in few months time brand new from the box,i was fortunate to fly with them to Abuja and by the look of it their maintenance is top notche with first class type of service,of course nothing works 100% fine but they're above average.So BF i don't know where u get ur facts from as far as i'm aware of their maintenance is done by Lufthansa Techniks and their pilots always go for their 6 months recurrency,even the local nigerians who they want to hire do a simulator assesment in the UK on the 737-300 talkless of those currently flying.It's a choice those who wants the job take it despite that 10% of their income is paid in local currency and they're many on the queue willing to take it
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 11:17
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BF
Good Lord! Sir, your spelling is appalling! Just so you know, that means:
My mother tongue is not English, but I still try and make sure that my spelling and grammar is up to scratch!
With your attitude towards someone else's language it must be a lot of fun working with you... (Just imagine the deck! )

As for this thread:

You firstly said there is a problem with the payment of salaries, then you state that the amount is not enough for you? So which is it? BTW, personally, I don't think $8000 is doing too bad?
We all know that Africa is a rough place, now all you have to do is accept it! Crime is high in Nigeria, it is also high in Johannesburg...
Malaria? Malaria? Of all the things? Malaria is like crime, part of Africa. Take your tablets and stop complaining!
So the company is desperate for commanders? So what? Is it a crime to let your company grow with ever increasing demand? Or is it only a crime in Africa?

This is not a continent for sissy's! If you don't "get" Africa, you won't make it in Africa!

If I stand corrected at anything that I said, please be so kind as to point it out. Thanks!
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 13:27
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Grrr Bf - I think you should be BS

Bf,

You have the gall to talk about attitude . You've never even been to Nigeria and yet you feel free to slag the place off and talk rubbish about a company which you've never worked for . For your information 'airliners' don't hire people- people are hired by airlines to fly airliners .

Now, Lagos - I go out in Lagos quite a lot. Yes, it's a dangerous city with armed robbers. I also go out in Miami and Rio de Janeiro, also dangerous cities with armed robbers. I'm not an airline pilot - I just go away on holiday, but airline pilots go to these places often and you can bet that more than a few have been mugged in these and many other dangerous cities. I've been robbed in Lagos and my wife has been mugged in London, so now we know the areas to try and stay away from. Almost any big city in the world is dangerous if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Arik flies a fleet of modern aircraft which are well maintained by one of the most reputable European maintenance organisations, Lufthansa Technik and, as has been said, all crews go for recurrent simulator training.

Malaria - wow - first I ever heard that there's malaria in Africa! If you take your ant-malaria pills and take normal precautions you probably won't catch it. If you do, we even have hospitals out here, not just witch doctors as you probably imagine . Many Nigerian doctors trained in USA and UK and returned here after.

As for the salary, that's £5,150 clear in your UK bank every month for working 8 months a year. Quite a reasonable salary.


With your command of English and attitude, it's probably a good thing for Arik that you didn't accept their offer of employment - I feel sorry for the company which is employing you.
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 14:03
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This is Strange..Thought this pprune was a place for aviators to give info for other aviators, and not a fighting arena for a puplic audience..

I will certanly not bother my time here anymore to give some info to other aviators...
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 14:29
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Bf,

I see you've deleted your other posts before posting this reply I don't know why you bothered posting here in the first place as all you posted was just some strangely written personal opinions about a company you've never worked for and a country you've never visited. What information exactly did you think you were giving to anybody
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 16:15
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You dont know anything about Arik Air Tombola..

In fact, you dont eather know anything about malaria, eventhough you take you pills..When you take your malaria pills, you get less sick, but you will get malaria. And you can never get rid of this never!! It will be in your blood for ever, and now and then you will get very sick for the rest of your life ! You have a 30-40% chance to get it..

And also, you dont know what happend to a german pilot who worked for Arik.

Also you dont know how the recurrentcy is. Its a joke..!
You must sign a bond of 7000$ If you leave before a half year, you will haft to pay the amount..

But it happens i know quit a few who work for Arik Air and i was also going there to.
I got another oppurtunity/contract job.

And yes, i was a litle desperat when i wrote to Arik and thay offered me a job right away.. But trust me, i would stay home anyway..

It some times cross my mind, are you in the pockets at Arik Air? I mention in this forum a very similar answer you wrote..

Do your self a favor. Search "Arik Air" And you will find everything you need..!

Last edited by Boeingflyer; 18th Mar 2009 at 16:34.
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 17:29
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BF
Buddy u again are getting ur facts wrong,apparently u need to go take some classes on Malaria.Where's does it come from that when u get malaria it'll forever stay in ur blood and u cannot completely heal?i'm very surprised to hear that,i've had malaria i can't even count how many times and the last time i had it was 9 years ago,malaria is no more a big deal just take ur pills.I think u've got a personnal beef with Nigeria and Arik but just try and be objective.I see many expats willing to go down there to fly in fact i've seen many of them there who are happy about their working conditions,so to each their own,if u can't take it others can.Cheers mate
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 18:53
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Devil Been there, done that!

Yes Arik's aircraft are new('ish), with line maintenance being done on-site in Lagos by Lufthansa Technic. So, I’m pleased to report, no problems there (aside from the fact that some of them have nearly as many sectors as hours... but they should be fine for a few years yet)

However, the downsides of Arik, Lagos & flying in Nigeria include (in no particular order):

Operationally the airspace is treacherous, little or no radar, and loads of aircraft in the air (often all trying to talk at once)... for which I quite admire the job the controllers do with the crap facilities they've got to work with. (thank God for TCAS.... but if only they’d fitted the look-up / look-down version... i.e. 'Tactical’ TCAS ).

En-route & approach ATC is 'procedural' and based entirely upon position reports (even at Lagos Intl. ) and the sector controllers do not coordinate handovers, so you have to coordinate that yourself (e.g on a 30 minute flight from Lagos to Benin City, you will talk to Lagos Ctr, Port Harcourt Ctr & Enugu Tower... sometimes all at once... P1 doing one radio, P2 doing the other radio... and often with the 3rd radio also in use too! )... this in an already crowded sky.

Line Training anybody here is difficult, as you're constantly on the radio... and generally just keeping one another 'in the loop' is very difficult.

Situational Awareness is a MUST!

Needless to say, many airports have facilities which, at best, are only part functional... and at worse are not functional at all (not that this is meant to cause you any operational limitations).

Bird strikes are a regular occurence, and the birds tend to be both numerous and big (and I can attest that they even fly at night, 'coz I hit one, at night, in the cloud, at 3000 ft AGL)!

Many / most of the en-route & approach aids don't work. You can set up for a VOR/DME APP only to find that the damned thing is turned off... following which you’re then somewhat 'expected' to do a RNAV / 'IN' approach.

Nb. Some of Arik's aircraft have the ability to do 'IN' approaches... albeit that Nigerian airspace is not mapped in accordance with WGS84, and / or that the Nigerian CAA don't allow it, and / or that Arik Air's pilots have not been through any kind of formal training course about how to use it and (more to the point) it's limitations and what to do when it all goes wrong (i.e. as you would expect if one was training for Cat III approaches)... but use it they do, e.g. ever wonder how they always get into PHC on foggy mornings when other airlines do not (albeit that the other airlines break the rules too, with or without 'IN')?!

Approach aids, PAPIS, and runway lights can turn off when you're using them.. usually at the most inconvenient moment (e.g. short finals).. and ATC never seem to know (or care).

PAPIS can shine in all sorts of colour combinations, except red & white!... and they only rarely indicate that one is on the G/S, even when one is.

Weight & balance is a joke. It’s a given that you're often a lot heavier than is ever suggested by the load sheet.
On the flip-side, sometimes the load sheet will say 100 pax and then the cabin tell you there are 90 on-board (you never really know how many people are onboard and / or how many you're meant to have?!).
Going with pax missing seems SOP (read that as, "they'll always make the numbers onboard fit with the number checked-in, even if it doesn't")

You'll ask for 8 tonnes of fuel and they'll load 9 (usually when you've just done a 'sharp pencil' job on the T/O performance on an already limiting runway).

Ramp staff will expect you to leave the APU running (so they can do fuelling) in spite of the fire risk and that they have no idea how to use the APU fire handle in the wheelwell bay.

Refuelling with pax boarding / onboard / deplaning is not carried out in accordance with the Nigerian CAR's, not that anybody seems to knows the rules on this in any case.

The PLOG will suggest you can expect 70 pax... and 150 will turn up, usually after you've loaded round trip fuel ('coz the company haven't, or won't, pay the fuel bill at some intermediate airport).

People don't know (or seem to care) how to properly calculate take-off performance and / or the implications on stopping performance & climb segment requirements.

There is no understanding of bleeds-off performance (and no Airfield Analysis data for it either).

Landing in excess of the aircraft's MLW is almost considered SOP... and rarely exhibits any more than a slight shrug of the shoulders.

There is no roster... it's typically all done on a day-to-day basis. Days Off get moved with impunity and are not given back.

Ops & crewing are nice folks but haven't been trained how to do their jobs and / or how to use the computer systems in front of them.

The aircraft are required to park in the tightest parking area you've ever seen.... you wouldn't even want to park a Cessna 172 in there.... but they expect us to manoeuvre a wingletted B737 in there with the assistance of a marshaller whose hand-signals & gesticulations would win 1st prize in a Break Dancing competition!

The cabin crew are nice... but one gets the distinct impression that in the event of a real emergency they'd not manage all that well... but one might be wrong?!

Until recently there were no published SOPS... but of which, those since published (on a few pages of A4), had mistakes, inconsistencies or bits missing.

There's no Ops Manual Part A or Part D... and Part B is just the vanilla Boeing Manual. The cabin crew manual is little more than a plagiarism from some EU based airlines.

What little / few manuals exist (they are certainly NOT on the aircraft btw) make no reference to, and in places are at odds with, various laws as defined in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCAR's).

There is seemingly no Flight Training Department at Arik.. or if there is I'd like to know who the FTM is and / or see a copy of the Ops Manual / Part D?!

Nigeria seemingly has no flight time limitations... and of if there are would somebody please be kind enough to publish them and / or explain them to us all?!

Hotel’s are allocated on an arbitrary basis. One in particular place (name escape me) is atrocious and was banned from use by the HR manager (not that this stopped the Protocol Dept.. who still went ahead booked places there regardless). So when the HR manager took pilots out of there and put them in the Sheraton (as a temporary measure, as nothing else was available) he was summarily sacked by the Chairman, in a most embarrassing manner, albeit then re-instated but without apology (and, by the way, Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission / EFCC had some interesting views on Arik's Chairman Mr.Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide <-- click the link).

Arik think nothing of paying their staff late (e.g. 1 week, or more), without any reason being given, or an apology, or recompense.

When you do get paid, 10% of it will be in Naira,... but you won't be able to spend it, 'coz you'll be stuck in your hotel... and / or unless you've got lots of 'lady friends' from the Sheraton Hotel nightclub?

Now unlike working in Miami, in Lagos you will be escorted to / from work in the Arik bus (when it turns up at your hotel and / or at the convenience of Arik's van driver mafia – plus / minus 15 minutes either side of the reported pickup time, if you’re lucky - and similarly so when you're waiting to go home after a long day of multi-sectors... see above about FTL’s) wherein you'll be joined in the bus by an AK47 toting Nigerian Policeman who will riding along in the front passenger seat to make sure you get to / from work safely.

As already mentioned above, when not at work, you'll be marooned in your hotel, as the personal security situation outside on the streets is very poor and you have to be very careful (venturing outside ones hotel at night... without an armed guard in tow and toting an AK47... would definitely be asking for it!... and even with an armed guard it is ill-advised ).

8 weeks of the same hotel menu can be soul destroying.

The highlight of the week is going to the Sheraton Hotel for a few beers on a Friday night, assuming you're not working that evening, or on early’s the next day and, most important of all, assuming that you can find a willing enough Arik driver (and obligatory Policeman) to take you there AND bring you home, safely.

That said, some might be pleased to hear that the hotels & guest houses that you stay in are night-fighter (hooker) friendly, so you can always bring a new ‘companion’ home with you from the Sheraton (its nightclub is loaded with them!).

Nb. There's an unofficial SOP that fraternising with your Arik cabin crew is strictly forbidden - apparently by order of the Chairman - which is a shame, as some of the ladies are babelicious!

Mosquitos are rife, even in the aircraft (and especially in Maiduguri in the morning in the crew bus)

Nuff said.

Last edited by Old King Coal; 18th Mar 2009 at 19:07. Reason: Fix a web link
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 20:08
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ok now i am scared.
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 20:38
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Oh, here we go again - Lord give me strength

Bf,

Actually I know a lot about Arik and it seems I know a lot more about malaria than you do, having qualified as an MD (sorry not in a European or American university so to you I'm probably just another juju man ). You can be excused your appalling English (which in its written form is as amusing as watching a Clouseau movie) but if your knowledge of aviation is on a par with your knowledge of tropical diseases, I hope I never have the misfortune to fly as a passenger in the back of an 'aluminium tube' which you are flying if anything goes wrong, because for sure I will be dead . You are a total ignoramus in your supposed knowledge of malaria and I'm just amazed you would wish to flaunt it on a public forum . I am very well acquainted with what happened to the German pilot who worked for Arik having been here in Lagos at the time (unlike yourself).
I have no association with Arik whatsoever as I am a helicopter pilot and have serious reservations about the finance for the initial setting up of the company. I have many friends and acquaintances and friends who work for them both Nigerian and expatriate. Having never worked for Arik yourself what would you know of their recurrent training or binding arrangements . Why not save yourself further embarrassment, stop showing yourself up as the ignoramus you are, stick to what you originally said, and "not bother your time here any more"?

OKC,

I had originally thought that your name indicated a well-known and respected Nigerian fixed wing pilot, but I see from your last post that you're just another ignoramus. Do you actually work in Nigeria or Dubai? Have you ever worked in Nigeria or for Arik? If so you should be well aware of the Nigerian FTD rules. And here we go about being stuck in your hotel, which shows me that in the unlikely event that you are actually here you are very much 'fresh fish' cowering in your room and afraid to speak to a black man in case he's some kind of terrorist Gosh, having to monitor 3 radios at once . That's something helicopter pilots do on a regular basis and, yes, we still manage to do line training. Where did you get the idea that Nigeria's airspace is not mapped iaw WGS 84? If you land an aircraft above MLW, accept fake load sheets, are incapable of speaking up if your performance is outside the airfield limitations and are too lazy to sit in the cockpit and monitor fuel gauges during refuelling then as aircraft Commander, you have only yourself to blame. People like you should stick to Dubai and never venture into Nigeria. But if as an aircraft Commander you're incapable of sticking up for yourself and your principles, I hope I'm never a passenger in the back of an Emirates flight to Dubai with you .

Hey-ho, LJT, where are you in all of this?
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Old 18th Mar 2009, 23:58
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OK, now the truth!!!

I really wanted to stay out of this conversation but reading that post by Old King Coal really forced me to reply. If I hadnt flown in Nigeria, i would have believed alot of the stuff he wrote, but i'm sorry with the benefit of years of flying in Nigeria, I have to correct certain things. I must say that not all the things he has said is wrong, but some of it is just plain wrong. So here we go:

Flying from Lagos - Benin, you only speak to Lagos control and you get transfered at MOPAD(65nm R104 LAG) to Benin. So where does PH app and Enugu come into it???

I've never in my time in nigeria found myself using three radios at the same time, thats just not true. if you find yourself trying to talk to three different people at the same time, something is seriously wrong, how about using the word standby???? remember Aviate, Navigate ..........

Situational Awareness is a MUST!
Is that not a must everywhere as pilots???

There's no Ops Manual Part A or Part D
How come my friend who flies the NG for the very same Arik has access to a copy of both documents???

Landing in excess of the aircraft's MLW is almost considered SOP... and rarely exhibits any more than a slight shrug of the shoulders
Isnt that a reflection on the pilot(you) who's willing to allow that in the first place??

Nigeria seemingly has no flight time limitations... and of if there are would somebody please be kind enough to publish them and / or explain them to us all?!
that has to be the biggest lie I have ever heard, there is a copy in the operations room and one in the chief pilots office. I can understand if you at least say it wasn't readily available but please dont make false statements please!!! And by the way, how did you pass your airlaw exam, which requires in knowledge of the NCARs(the big green book) and how it differs from that of the FAA/JAA. There's a big section on FTL and work and rest regulations.

You'll ask for 8 tonnes of fuel and they'll load 9
Once again, stay on the ball, monitor your refuelling!!!

The aircraft are required to park in the tightest parking area you've ever seen.... you wouldn't even want to park a Cessna 172 in there
You've obviously never parked an RJ100 at london city airport!!!

I'm not gonna spend all night ripping through your post buddy, alot of what you have said is true, and Nigeria definitely has a long way to go, but I had to dispell some stuff you mentioned!!!

Oh Yeah, boeingFlyer, you really need to wind your neck in and stop spouting drivel on this forum, if you have concrete experiences and example to speak about then do so, but in the absence of that, please stop insulting people on here. You lost me when you started insulting helicopter pilots, they are professional aviators, why generalise people like that?? CRM definitely an issue there, thank God you never went to Nigeria
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Old 19th Mar 2009, 09:44
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AlternativeProcedure,
Well said.
I could not have said it better myself! Just had to see where this thread was going before i made any comments.
Boeingflyer,
It is obvious to me that your incessant comments about Arik, Nigeria and Malaria are bourne out of a complete lack of any credible knowledge.
It amazes me that your sort in this century could possibly be credited as a pilot; i just wonder for real how it is you made it through flight school??!!
That would be if you ARE one in the first place.
I wonder how it is you were offered a job in Arik when you find it so difficult to even spell your own name?? If it is true that you actually wrote them a letter and was given immediate employment; Arik must have been the desperate ones then!!
Basically, an educated guess about you indicates to me one thing; you didn't go past primary education!!!
I don't expect that you could possibly understand my English, so i will give you a break.
Keep your trap shut if you cant make sense dude!!!!
Old King Coal,
The last but certainly not the least! I will give you kudos for some of the things you have said, and quoting AP, you ARE right about some, and honestly, i respect your effort.
You have tried to keep within the confines of Aviation and only strayed to inject some humour; nice touch!
However i must add, like i have done several times before, that if the kitchen becomes too hot, get out of it!
Arik like any other start up Airline in the third world WILL have teething problems; unfortunately, you seem to be one of those who is witnessing these inadequacies first hand.
Nigeria is NO heaven. That? We are aware of.
But, instead of moaning, i would spend more time with those in authority to see if changes could be effected.
Based on your comments on fueling, load sheets etc. I see an obvious deficiency in your attitude toward doing things the right way.
Airplanes as we all know, cannot be operated without situational awareness; as i see it, you spend your time focusing on whats not important and maybe making notes on whats wrong with the system, rather than monitoring your aircraft is being loaded, or fueling done in haphazard manners etc.
If you have landed above the MLW of your airplane, i would say thats rather unsafe if you ask me, but then again, you must remember that the decision was yours alone.
If something had gone wrong during any of those landings, trust me, the books would be thrown at you without prejudice and heavily at that.
How would you explain that you were aware that the airplane was over-weight and you still continued to make the landing?? Thats in the rare case that you'd still be alive anyway?
I could go on and on in an attempt to make nonsense of your post, but i give credit where it is due; some of what you have said STILL holds water!
You must admit though, that flying in the jungle prepares you for anything, anywhere at anytime!!!
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Old 19th Mar 2009, 16:41
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Devil

In spite of what folks might think, I (too) think Arik Air has a great future.,,, but they (and others) really do need to get their house in order.

So here’s a suggestion,... how about stop buying so many aircraft and, instead, spend some time & money on getting the infrastructure, oversight and safety systems right?

Ah, Tombola, did I touch a nerve? ... Far from being an ignoramus (as you put it)... I did not accept (numerous) situations where it was somewhat ‘expected’ that one would look the other way wrt the rules (made all the harder given that Part A was not available onboard the aircraft).
Veritably I (and some others) do the things which a good Commander does.

And now let me give you a small lesson in flight safety. It's something all encompassing and not specific just to aircraft flight (it’s actually supposed to come from the top, and trickle down), wherein not sticking to the rules & laws, failing to supply crews with pertinent and accurate information, sweeping difficult / embarrassing issues under the carpet, are NOT conducive to flight safety. Neither is it open, or honest, and therein if this post stings a few folks into action, then great... this post might do some good!

It appears to me that you’re trying to defend that which shouldn’t be defended, whilst similarly not attacking (which is probably too strong a word?) poor practices and failings?! So don't be scared man, speak up!.... though I'll take the point that in Nigeria (and other places) this can lead to a very short career.

I'm pleased that you agree that some (much?) of what I say is true (well, you can hardly deny it... ‘coz you & I know that it’s true), but wherein I'll now endeavour to pick you up on the points of disagreement.

As for Part A (& D)... it's common practice, certainly at every airline that I've ever worked at, to have a copy of Part A onboard the aircraft.... this is not the case at Arik (and trust me when I say that I looked for it, in all the obvious places).

It's likewise common practice, again at every airline that I've ever worked at, to be given a copy of that airlines Part A, Part B, Part C & Part E... be that in paper or electronic format... but this is not the case at Arik.
That one pilot (your friend) might have a copy is great, but what about all the others... e.g. none of the people I joined with were given a copy of these manuals.

I should also perhaps add that the MEL / CDL onboard the aircraft are missing a lot of entries (which found out when I was wondering why the MEL/CDL book was soooo thin?!)

Wrt to potential circumstances leading to the aircraft being over-weight for takeoff or landing. This is typically caused by the lack of competence / training (or sheer laziness) of the ground staff (and often a belief by them that you'll turn a blind eye to such things... which I don't!)
E.g. Prior to departing base one asks for PLOG fuel (having confirmed there are no substantial LMC’s since the PLOG was generated). However, when you get to the aircraft you find that the ramp team have over-fuelled the aircraft (because they were not paying attention).
So would you have it that I should go and do their job for them? Maybe I should go and do the passengers check-in too, so that we can be sure of the load?!

Wrt overweight for T/O or Landing (according to several of the FO’s who relayed this to me) some of the Captains are prepared to turn a blind eye to such limitations... though (again for the record) I, however, am not (unless under the provisions of an emergency = different case)!

Aside - At a good number of airports on Arik’s network fuel uplifts are not available, not because it's not available, but only because Mr Johnson won't pay for the fuel there (for reasons best known to himself) which, imho, is actually a causal factor towards reducing flight safety... remember what I said about safety trickling down from the top?!

I’ll admit that I found it hard to fathom how the Nigerian FTL’s worked (and I’m not the only one)....if only because they are so ‘non-restrictive’.
It is certainly the case is that Nigeria’s CAR’s FTL’s were written a long time ago and are not in-sync with current thinking on fatigue (as embraced by more reputable Regulatory Authorities, e.g. JAR, FAA, etc).
E.g. a FDP of 14 hours, starting at 5am, with 6 sectors, is legal in Nigeria... requiring no ‘Discretion Report’ (the reason being that the sectors within Nigeria are short and the Nigerian FTL’s are based on the ‘block’ hours, i.e. chock-to-chock).

Wrt Nigerian airspace NOT being mapped in accordance with WGS84, have a look at this link WGS-84 Updates - Jeppesen and see if you can spot Nigeria in the list.... it’s not there by the way... and I trust that you’ll agree that Jeppesen is a reliable enough source?

It’s all too easy to get suckered into using a fabulous system like ‘IN’ to shoot approaches.... but to do so safely it’s got to be backed up by training (especially for the failure case), proper system / country mapping, and regulatory approval.

Fwiw.. I did go out at night in Lagos, and several of my closest friends are Africans (black Africans, for the avoidance of doubt). So please don’t try to portray me as some sort of fresh off the boat racist..... ‘coz that I am most certainly NOT!

LongJohnThomas - whilst I thankyou for some of your comments, you do seem to suggest that I would tollerate the loadsheet & performance calculations being in error? If so, I'd invite you to go back and carefully read what I wrote, wherein I think you'll find that my position is one of the exact opposite. Indeed I gave many a lesson on the intricacies of the Airfield Analysis and its application to real-world effects of being overweight - especially for the stopping case (e.g. on poor runways)... might I suggest a review of the Boeing FCTM (which I'll trust you are well aware of?).

I'll agree with you that flying in Africa is great... ideally having been well trained first, and maintaining high standards!
Old King Coal is offline  
Old 19th Mar 2009, 17:01
  #18 (permalink)  
 
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BF I sympathise with your plight dealing with people who don't realise as a pilot you only need to speak english not write it like shakespear (you have no worries on that front) You must have passed your English language proficiency test otherwise you wont still be flying. I have been flying in Nigeria for quite a while now and have flown in the best and worst companies but they all had the same thing going for them YOU CAN ALWAYS LEAVE. But the worst thing I have had the misfortune of seeing is a fellow Aviator wishing Death onto anybody least of all a fellow Aviator (too sad). If you are a person with even a little dignity you would appologise for that statement if not for anything else.
OKC thanks for the post it brings to light the little flaws we as pilots have like not paying attention to refuelling or the MLW limitations and the best is to have sit awareness at all times thanks for that I needed a wake up call I was getting lax.Now you are in the middle east forum B@tching about the place and the medicals. Great you moved to fly dubai coz with the type of attitude you got Arik would have shown you the door(not a bad thing for you).
By the way is there a reason you cant get a job back home or are you just too busy moving around from one country to another complaining?
All the problems Nigeria has/is having did not come about yesterday/last year or Three years ago it's been around for decades and you all must have heard about it. Did you all think you could come and just maybe not be entangled in the Problems within the Aviation sector , you came and it did not work out thats life. Shake it off and move on.
FACT:Nigerian Aviation has big problems.
:Lagos is dangerous.
:The Airlines will ASK you to overfly.
:The accomodation is excellent for a THIRD world country.
:You move TO/FROM work with armed escorts.
:If you come with a good attitude we reciprocate.
:You earn enough to keep your mortgage going.
:We have some of the best night fighters money can buy .
GUYS NIGERIA IS A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY WITH THIRD WORLD PROBLEMS IF YOU AINT HERE TO HELP PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING "LEAVE"

Last edited by NIJASEA; 19th Mar 2009 at 18:04. Reason: mistype
NIJASEA is offline  
Old 19th Mar 2009, 20:42
  #19 (permalink)  
 
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First he writes this...
Nigeria seemingly has no flight time limitations... and of if there are would somebody please be kind enough to publish them
Then he writes this....
I’ll admit that I found it hard to fathom how the Nigerian FTL’s worked (and I’m not the only one)....if only because they are so ‘non-restrictive’.
First you tell us you havent seen them, then when you are pushed to the wall you tell us something else. Which one do you want us to believe? That Nigeria doesnt have Flight time limitations? or that Nigeria doesnt have flight time limitations that you agree with? Dude we've given you credit for some of the stuff you have mentioned here, but when you start to get lies all mixed up, it kinda paints a stupid picture(Im not saying you are stupid, just saying how it looks from the outside).
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Old 19th Mar 2009, 21:29
  #20 (permalink)  
 
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OKC,

No you didn't really hit a nerve - Bf did, but I'm glad if my efforts have provoked a meaningful response with only deserved criticism of Nigeria for a change. Thanks for your measured response to my barbs which I appreciate. It's interesting to see what sometimes crawls out of the ashes of last night's barbecue really isn't it. Thanks also to LJT and Nijasea for your responses which have shown that it is possible to have a debate and not a slanging match on a thread where Nigeria is criticised in a constructive and realistic fashion.

I see some posts have been removed, but I actually do have a fixed wing licence as well: it's just not what I really wanted to do.

Interesting thread now guys and hope we'll hear more from pilots both Nigerian and expat who actually work for Arik - love 'em or hate 'em (Arik, that is, not the pilots ) they're here, they seem to be expanding and they have some nice machinery. Will they succeed This is Nigeria, so who knows, but let's hope they do so, evolve, and actually set a new standard which they can maintain. I'm cynical but hopeful
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