Arik Air put Denim Air out of business

[westafricanair]

I heard that due to Arik Air not paying for the wetlease of the F50'S resulted in Denim Air going out of business.

Is it true and was it a case of wouldn't pay or couldn't pay?

Neither situation is good news for the reputation of Nigerian Aviation?

Can anyone confirm or give more details?:(

[exeng]

Arik have the Q400 now operating which Denim must have known was coming.

I believe that Denim have lost a number of contracts with other operators - not just Arik. Also I'm told that Denim were very expensive for Arik.

To suggest that Arik have not paid for services rendered by Denim is unsubstantiated rumour -unless you can back this up with facts?

I hope that the many pleasant Denim crew I met enjoy a good future.


Regards
Exeng

[JABAG]

I beleive this is a rumor network. It is valid to claim that Arik has not paid Denim. Arik had not paid for quite a number of services. In the words of the DG NCAA, Arik is the largest debtor in Nigria avaiation and I think ever. Dot have the facts though.

Denin is quite expensive to use though. Having a requirement for your pilots to return back home every 10 days cant be good for the bottom line.

On the other hand, it only opens up another opportunity for new entrants into the nigeria avaiation sceen.

Can Arik pay its debts? Dont think so and dont expect them to do so soon.

Shame.

Hope they are not setting themselves up for a big ball..... later on.
:hmm:

jabag

[18left]

Cant expect to be an airline of ARIKS size and not have debt,it has to be put in perspective.Huge airline huge debts,small airline small debts,what is crucial is the servicing of the debts,not its size.So as JABAG rightly pointed out lets hope they are servicing this debts,or they end up like Bellview/Afrijet/VK belly up!!

As for Denim,i always felt they are heavily overpriced,i dont see how anyone can turn a profit leasing from Denim.However ARIK cannot be the source of Denims woes.Arik may have been sustaining them!!

[surely not]

Sorry but Arik are NOT a huge airline. Large yes, especially for West Africa, but not huge on the World scene.

Also, as I write this I haven't seen anything stating that VK has gone belly up. Maybe they should run up massive debt to the NCAA to survive?

[LOS]

Arik Air owes Denim Air a few million Euros. Non-payment by Arik is just one of the reasons why Denim went bust. I don't know if Arik was unable or unwilling to pay, but it's not good for the credibility of the airline.

By the way, I just read that Arik's new A330 is named 'Sultan of Sokoto'. Mistake, or is Arik Air returning 5N-MJP (with the same name) to GECAS soon?

[westafricanair]

So let me get this right - Denim Air are expensive, but didn't make any money?
This is even though they had a lucrative contract with Arik for the last 4 plus years?

Arik are the largest debtor in Nigerian aviation, yet have just leased a new A332?

It doesn't add up, there must be some heavy protection of Arik going on = the rest of the Nigerian Aviation Industry will go bust!

Sounds like LOS has got it right - the same thing nearly happened to Smartlynx / Latcharter when VK couldn't pay for the 2 x 763's.

[JABAG]

All,
keeping issues as simple as possible, ARIK having access to "FUNDS" has grown to a large airline by West African Standards. They have used this clout not to service their debts.
Their chairman received a contract from the FGN of over 230billion N.
They are so big relatively, that should they be shut down, they will affect the economy of Nigeria.
I'm sure surely not understands what I’m saying.
Look at Bellview. How many times have they come to a standstill, yet always come back. Normally I would expect that they declare bankruptcy and come back under a different name, but not in our own case.

This is not a level playing field.

It would be nice to see Arik servicing their debts though; at least this will give them a longer term of survival.

Denim though expensive must have cash to operate. Hence their demise. Will they be back, I assume yes in some form or the other. you must understand that quite a number of people in denim are ex schreiner.

The burning of a forest leads to a regeneration of new saplings.
JABAG

:hmm:

[The Maestro]

Arik's dream is to drive every other airline in Nigeria out of business. It won't happen. By now IRS, Chanchangi, Bellview, Afrijet, and Virgin Nigeria (NEA) were supposed to have gone out of business, leaving only Aero and Arik. Afrijet may have gone belly-up, Bellview is making a comeback in April, and a strong new entrant DANA is in the bargain. The Masterplan hatched a few years back with deep-pocket money intermixed with Papa Delta Papa bigwigs and garnished with bank loans to legitimize it, is developing hiccups. Just recently Arik's head honcho went against the grain of other operators by asking for a 100% fare increase and saying that airlines did not need a bailout.

Are we on the same planet as this guy, gentlemen? Hasn't he heard of global meltdown? Or is he the reason really why the rest of us don't have LIGHT (literally), while he alone sees the LIGHT? (Read into it what you will.)

He is owing everyone. From ASL to Skycare, to FAAN and NAMA to Denim, and a hundred others. It is no secret. Harold Demuren spoke the awful truth when he said Arik was the largest debtor airline. He was muzzled into a retraction days later due to pressure from the head honcho and the protectors of Arik, somewhere around the hard terrain rock in the capital.

The day of reckoning will come. I rest my case.

[Mirek]

The "Denim Air" management was arogant to recognise "writing on the wall". They never accepted the fact that "Fokker 50" is the history and "Dash 8/315" is becoming also the history in Europe and sooner or latter it will be in Africa as well. With a such a "Fokker philosophy":ugh:, "Denim Air" lost the most lucrative contract, held for some 10 years with "Air Nostrum" (Spain). In my opinion top management had sick averssion to Q-400 and it cost them first of all lost market place in Europe and then in Africa. Very, very sad story because below the management level it was the big team of excellent people. Sad is the fact that they witnessed all pathetic moves from management :yuk:and they stay just silent :oh:to the moment of catastrophy. Now the big number of pilots are jobless. Most of them still have to pay huge amount of money to the banks for the type ratings, training and you name it ... just for a privilage of beeing one upon the time the "Denim Air" pilot :\...I'm one of them. Hope that in my case the lesson is taken:uhoh:

[BALEWA]

Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn..........

[18left]

haba Balewa,jobs are at stake!

[Hussar 54]

Were Denim too expensive ?? Perhaps, but who knows what their ' real ' price to Arik is / was....Don't really suspect it was anything to do with F50's, though - I know that the low value of F50's probably gave Denim an advantage when it came to All-In Ops Costs compared to ATR's and 8's, but lower costs isn't everything...

Were Arik delaying payment ?? Perhaps, sometimes there just isn't enough cash around at the time everyone needs it, whether you're running an airline or dealing drugs...And if you've just parted company with a supplier whose services you don't need anymore, you wouldn't rush to pay them, would you ??

I think that this is probably just a falling out between two previously good business partners rather than anything more sinister...

I'm surprised, though, if it is a question of cash shortages, as I thought both companies were well funded - maybe goes to explain why I was where I was the last few days and nights while most of my colleagues have been nicely tucked up in bed back in Europe...

I suppose we may find out the truth eventually - but in 'God's Own Country' things are rarely as they first appear and sometimes the truth is even stranger than the gossip...

Tough on the excellent Denim guys we have had the pleasure of meeting the past few years - it's happened to me a few times but hopefully it won't be too long before you're back in work and, maybe, this time in some decent places rather than the sh*tholes the Management seemed to have reserved for you recently...

[cpt hamna sheeda]

Denim is out of business now. All pilots are are unemployed. Before Arik they already lost the Air Nostrum contract in Spain.

Denim will try to start operations again with 2 Fokker 50's and are hoping for a contract from the Norwegian government transporting troops in Afghanistan.

[Browright]

Denim Air Aircraft Engineers with F100 ratings who have had a duty tour in Nigeria can apply to [email protected] or [email protected]