In my many
years of flying, I recently experienced what would go down in history as my
worst international flight with Arik Air.
This
nightmarish experience occurred during my recent trip to Johannesburg, South
Africa to cover the opening ceremony of Big Brother Africa Hotshots, unarguably
the biggest reality contest on the continent.
I left
Nigeria for South Africa in the night of October 2, aboard an Arik plane with
flight number W3 103 Y, thinking I would have a swell time like I normally do
with other airlines whenever I’m visiting Nelson Mandela’s country.
Being my
first international flight with Arik, I thought the experience would be fun and
memorable based on their many promises.
But to my
consternation, it turned out my worst traveling experience with an airline on
the international route in my over a decade romance with foreign airline
operators.
After
boarding and take off, sleep was not forthcoming, so I decided to relax with
Arik’s in-flight entertainment while the six hour journey lasted, thus began my
agony and torture inside the very scantily filled plane.
I tried
severally to use the in-flight entertainment to watch either movies or even
listen to musicals, all to no avail. After several attempts, I decided to
complain to a not too friendly female crew member. And her response was dry and
devoid of any iota of emotions. “Sorry. Our in flight entertainment is not
working,” she said in a voice bereft of friendliness and the usual excitement
air hostesses are noted for globally, while brushing past my seat number 16F.
Her
response left me stunned with mouth agape.
Then several
questions, which answers I’m yet to find kept flooding my angry mind, for the
greater part of the tortuous and frustrating flight to Johannesburg.
First, why
would a certified international flight not have an in-flight entertainment to
help travelers on a long distance journey relax their frayed nerves?
Are NCAA
and FAAN, aware of the fact that this flight set aside for long distance foreign
trips, is best suitable for only local flights, because it does not have what
it takes to compete on the global air space?
In all my
years of patronizing foreign airlines to South Africa and other parts of the
world, I’ve never flown any airline without in-flight entertainment and abysmally
poor services, like this cursed Arik Air.
At least,
I’ve flown serious airlines such as: British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, South
African Airways, Turkish Airways and several others to different parts of the
world and can still relish with fond memories how they all pampered me like a
king on each of these trips.
Why is our
own Arik, the self acclaimed Wings of Nigeria, totally different and useless in
terms of delivering quality services?
Why must
incompetence and poor service delivery be Arik’s hallmarks?
Little
wonder, our flight was almost empty and occupied by angry and frustrated passengers
like me who kept cursing and lamenting until we landed in SA.
Aside the
absence of in-flight entertainment, I also noticed that Arik’s Air cabin crew
members were very stingy with their victuals on our way to SA.
In the other
airlines I’ve patronized, victuals, especially assorted wines were usually
served excess in small bottles. But with Arumemi’s Arik, the case was
completely different and annoyingly belittling. When I ordered for a small
bottle of wine to help cushion the effect of the non availability of in-flight entertainment,
the unfriendly female cabin crew member, grudgingly brought me a half filled
glass of wine like a kindergarten student on a forced excursion. When I
protested, she emphatically made it clear that was the only thing available on
board. Can you imagine such injustice on an innocent passenger, whose only
crime was choosing to fly his country’s airline to a foreign land as a
patriotic citizen?
When I later
called for a refill, it took this same hostess more than 30 minutes to respond
with another half glass, even though our flight had scanty and countable
passengers.
I later
said to myself that the above sad episodes and many more were the reasons passengers
going to SA avoid Arik like a plague.
I was at
the airport and saw how filled and busy the South African Airways desk was
prior to our trip, unlike their Arik’s counterpart.
Painfully,
on our way back to Nigeria in the morning of October 6, aboard another Arik Air
with flight number W3 104 Y, the sad story did not change.
This time,
the captain apologetically announced to us that the six hour journey to Nigeria
would be without in-flight entertainment. He implored us to bear with them for
the inconveniences. This to me is Arik’s new motto and ‘style of operation’.
That was
when it dawned on me that Arik Air was deliberately out to exploit, discomfort
and maltreat its passengers traveling to South Africa on a daily basis. And
this keeps happening because the passengers don’t complain or ever deem it fit
to report to the appropriate authorities.
As usual, it
was another scanty passengers’ trip back home. In fact, this time, the
passengers were fewer.
One of the
angry and disappointed passengers painfully told me that Arik’s in-flight
entertainment had never worked since they started patronizing the airline at the
inception of their SA route.
The only
form of in-flight entertainment we had on our way back were stale copies of
Nigerian newspapers that the cabin crew members gave us amid jokes that we
should entertain ourselves with stale news from Nigerian dailies.
The big
question is, what would it cost Arik to align with global best practices by
activating their in-flight entertainment for the good of their business and
daily decreasing passengers? It is obvious that they are hugely losing
passengers on a daily basis due to deliberate poor services, inefficiency and sheer
greed to cut corners.
Most of
the passengers on that Arik’s flight of frustration with me vowed never to go
near the airline again, when planning future foreign trips. Even Yours
Faithfully, will never touch the airline with a long spoon when next I’m
planning a foreign trip.
What those
who are bent on ruining and running Arik’s international flights aground do not
know is that when you break your word, you also break something that cannot be
mended.
Arik
failed woefully in their promise of giving me and the rest of the unhappy
passengers a fun filled and memorable trip to South Africa.
And like a
philosopher once said: “Promises are like crying babies in the church, they
should be carried out immediately.”
The
management of Arik should stop punishing and embarrassing with us poor services
on a daily basis.
They
should immediately quit foreign routes and concentrate only on national routes
if they are not ready to up their game by raising their ‘short’ bar in the
aviation sector.
It is
tragic and fraudulent when you pay for a service that is poorly or badly rendered.
It hurts more when the apex regulatory authority is doing nothing to protect
you and refusing to punish the erring organization.
Arik, please
end this flight of torture, boredom and frustration because we can no longer
take this punishment and insult on your international routes.
By: AZUH
AMATUS
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