Payday at Arik Air
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FG to give Arik N4.5bn lifeline – Investigation
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You have to think commercially
I know the audience here, but you have to start thinking like business people. To say that when business turns up the first thing to do is pay pilots more is to be ignorant of the real world. This lengthy thread does little beyond proving that there are a lot of pilots willing to be mistreated. When financial fortunes turn upward, airlines care about capital reserves, the balance sheet, etc., not giving the guys will appelettes more $$. 
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It seems that everybody is quick to demand these pilots to refuse to fly until they are paid. That is fine however in my experience, if i refuse to fly then i get fired. I go home, no job, no job prospect, and no immediate hope to a paycheck. Also, I wont see a dime from the company that fired me for non payment.
I am now past a year looking for employment. Alll my friends that just put up with it, have earned more than a 100 grand. Late as it may be, I am broke and unemployed with my house foreclosed on.
But hey, I got my pride for refusing to fly without pay.,
This didnt happen at Arik.
I am now past a year looking for employment. Alll my friends that just put up with it, have earned more than a 100 grand. Late as it may be, I am broke and unemployed with my house foreclosed on.
But hey, I got my pride for refusing to fly without pay.,
This didnt happen at Arik.
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Owerri OEI
Pilots can be a bunch of to$$ers at times. We r so quick to jump to conclusions without the facts. It makes me wonder how some of us will act if faced with airborne emergencies.
Did any of u bother to get the facts before castigating the crew?
The bird strike occurred on departure but the engine vibrations went out of limits over 15 minutes into the flight and the IFSD was accomplished. Owerri-Lagos is about 42 minutes. When faced with all the facts, all pilots I've spoken to gave d crew
.
The level of technical knowledge and modern operating procedures is abysmally low in Nigerian aviation. There has been so much drivel spewed around in response to this incident:
1. NCAA officials reprimanding d crew for following d appropriate checklists
2. NCAA officials telling the crew they should av abandoned the checklists and just landed
3. Pilots criticising the crew for declaring a mayday
The pilots May have not been paid but the flew the airplane like pilots that ad been paid. They did it by the book.
Oh! BTW they did not operate to London that day. Arik's flights to London are morning flights.
Did any of u bother to get the facts before castigating the crew?
The bird strike occurred on departure but the engine vibrations went out of limits over 15 minutes into the flight and the IFSD was accomplished. Owerri-Lagos is about 42 minutes. When faced with all the facts, all pilots I've spoken to gave d crew
.The level of technical knowledge and modern operating procedures is abysmally low in Nigerian aviation. There has been so much drivel spewed around in response to this incident:
1. NCAA officials reprimanding d crew for following d appropriate checklists
2. NCAA officials telling the crew they should av abandoned the checklists and just landed
3. Pilots criticising the crew for declaring a mayday
The pilots May have not been paid but the flew the airplane like pilots that ad been paid. They did it by the book.
Oh! BTW they did not operate to London that day. Arik's flights to London are morning flights.
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Really?SOP indeed
@Capt Manuvar,I give you a very solid thumbs up for a good write up, sic,,but in what modern sop does it state that if you encounter a birdstrike on departure,You will be required to continue the flight until you experience engine vibrations? That SOP must be suspect,I make bold to say you got it all wrong my Capt,why do you carry out air returns after such encounters in the sim?Lets not expose ourselves to ridicule,If you have nothing to say stop holding brief for the crew.The NCAA has seasoned pilots on its team and we are sure they will get to the bottom of this, meanwhile we shall wait and see and not speculate since an investigation is on going,but from me and moi,no kudos for the actions by that crew
They were definitely bold pilots,remember there are no old and bold pilots
They were definitely bold pilots,remember there are no old and bold pilots
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Gidigba,
What's the single engine range of the B737? Do you consider QOW to be a reasonable diversion airfield considering the facilities there? Is a birdstrike with a precautionary engine shutdown such an emergency, landing anywhere is a priority?
Just your thoughts on these please.
Cheers
What's the single engine range of the B737? Do you consider QOW to be a reasonable diversion airfield considering the facilities there? Is a birdstrike with a precautionary engine shutdown such an emergency, landing anywhere is a priority?
Just your thoughts on these please.
Cheers
Last edited by NDB17; 20th May 2011 at 00:54.
Good news guys,at least salaries will now be on time!
FG to give Arik N4.5bn lifeline
FG to give Arik N4.5bn lifeline
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I can see you guys are all talking nonsense. Writer Sebastian Schmitz says in the UK's Air International magazine: "Arik is striving to be an airline of high international standards" and "Proving to sceptics - those claiming that a high quality airline and Western Africa just do not go are wrong"
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Brit Mag crap
@Miller,if you really believe what that britz mag says about Arik,then you are just as ignorant as they are and full of a lot of 
and nonsense,Airline indeed, Eish
and nonsense,Airline indeed, Eish
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Deafening silence - still no pay!?
Seven days since the last post! Any pay yet? Any local staff received their April pay yet? Any expat staff received April pay yet? What do the ICAO inspectors think about this? Is anyone complaining? Or is everyone cowered into submission?
May pay is due tomorrow guys! Will then be owed 2 months pay!!!!
May pay is due tomorrow guys! Will then be owed 2 months pay!!!!
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The games continue, a handful of expats have been paid as of Friday, but the rest continue to wait for what is rightfully theirs. Give jack his Jacket, Johnson certainly knows how to play the game of divide and rule, i.e, he pays a token few so the rest think that salaries have been paid, their salary is in the pipeline so they continue to work. I wager that this 2 months late salary will turn into 3 months, also, if anyone leaves for whatever reason, ARIK wins, they will always owe at least 1 month salary.
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I wager that this 2 months late salary will turn into 3 months, also, if anyone leaves for whatever reason, ARIK wins, they will always owe at least 1 month salary.
The same game played with every business that Arik owes money. Nothing new, and no surprise to any pilots.
Pilots, obviously, will play along and already know the next moves in the game.
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However whilst the game continues it is up to each group (be it Pilot or otherwise) to play the game and achieve a positive result.
I suspect that should Arik shut down in the coming weeks, obviously no pilot will get paid the many months owed them.
What is the status of the 4.5b from the government?
Has the Fat Guy acquiesced to their demand for a board that the government has a 49% share of?
Has anybody used their brain and decided to shut down the money hemorrhaging A340's ? (it was a godsend to have the A330 repo'd !!!)
Who wants to put a date on the last day of operation?
June 29 is my vote.
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Can anyone tell me how many pilots Arik has and a current breakdown of the fleet. An Arik Air photo would also go down well (high res). Also when the salary nonsense started and what has been done in attempts to rectify it.
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What is Going on with Nigerian Airlines?
So the prediction is no more Arik after June 29, why..?
The news from Air Nigeria is just as gloomy - staff cuts, unpaid salaries, reduction in salaries - yet they are finalising the re-launch of LOSLGW. Start date of 01 September 2011 - daily service.
First Nation look set to launch soon - but why would they want to do that in the current market?
It is obvious there is too much capacity on Nigerian Domestic Routes driving down the yield to unsustainable levels. Add to that vast over capacity on LOSLON from 01 September - outside of 2 weeks at Xmas / New Year and 4 weeks in August / September.
Just look at the NG carriers - are any of them making profit or are they begging for a bail out - is this the true picture?
Or is the grand plan by all the aim to get their hands on the Government billions to line their pockets?
This is truly baffling compared to the 'real' business world.
The BIG question is which airline will be the one to survive all this and then thrive - any opinions?
The news from Air Nigeria is just as gloomy - staff cuts, unpaid salaries, reduction in salaries - yet they are finalising the re-launch of LOSLGW. Start date of 01 September 2011 - daily service.
First Nation look set to launch soon - but why would they want to do that in the current market?
It is obvious there is too much capacity on Nigerian Domestic Routes driving down the yield to unsustainable levels. Add to that vast over capacity on LOSLON from 01 September - outside of 2 weeks at Xmas / New Year and 4 weeks in August / September.
Just look at the NG carriers - are any of them making profit or are they begging for a bail out - is this the true picture?
Or is the grand plan by all the aim to get their hands on the Government billions to line their pockets?
This is truly baffling compared to the 'real' business world.
The BIG question is which airline will be the one to survive all this and then thrive - any opinions?
Last edited by westafricanair; 31st May 2011 at 18:19. Reason: Just seen press release with LOSLGW start date
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John Miller said,
"Can anyone tell me how many pilots Arik has and a current breakdown of the fleet. An Arik Air photo would also go down well (high res). Also when the salary nonsense started and what has been done in attempts to rectify it."
"Can anyone tell me how many pilots Arik has and a current breakdown of the fleet. An Arik Air photo would also go down well (high res). Also when the salary nonsense started and what has been done in attempts to rectify it."
Why would you want this? You can go to the highly accurate website at Arik Air Limited for the fleet. The pilot population is so fluid that, honestly, the company couldn't give you a verifiable number. You can imagine the turmoil that not getting paid for many months does. If you need a number, just make it up, like Arik would.
Arik never really paid exactly on time, but usually within a few days to a week late. There were a few times that they did pay on time, but that was extremely rare. About one year ago, when this thread started, is when it really went downhill; after Jason Holt was shown the door for ruffling the feathers of Fat Ass.
Unfortunately, there was never anything done collectively by the pilot workforce. Some refusals to work (and a few sackings), but mostly folks just realized the futility and left when they could. Some would work for the potential at an upgrade to captain or larger aircraft. Those were very rare, considering the almost five years and 30 aircraft, and hundreds of pilots during that time. Truly, these latter group, who would literally "sell their souls" for this company, probably will have the most heart break with this failed company.
There are any number of sources for a photo. Try: Airliners.net | Airplanes - Aviation - Aircraft- Aircraft Photos & News
If you need a non-copyright photo, post an email and I'm sure somebody will send you something worthwhile.
I left Arik many months ago, as I could fairly accurately predict what my labors would eventually provide me by staying.
Last edited by Oba1kanobe; 1st Jun 2011 at 02:03.