Founded in 2002 following the demise of national carrier Nigeria Airways, Arik Air took to the skies with a small fleet of CRJ-900 regional jets in 2006. In just three years the Lago-based carrier boasted a fleet including 2 Airbus A340-500 and 4 Airbus A330-200 and a network including London (LHR), Johannesburg, Dubai and New York (JFK), thus imposing itself as the fastest-growing airline in west Africa. Plans to add more destinations in the US and Europe plus Sao Paulo in Brazil were also revealed. But the financial burden caused by the fast-pace growth took finally the airline into a crisis which caused a stop of all long-haul flights, the alienation of all widebody aircraft and the cancellation of an order for two Boeing 787-9 in 2017. Arik Air is today a regional airline flying mainly to domestic and western Africa destinations (Photo Wikimedia Commons / Biggerben)
- - 5 STARS: Awarded to airlines achieving a very high, overall quality performance. It recognizes high standards of onboard product together with consistent and excellent standards of staff service across airport and cabin environments
- - 4 STARS: Awarded to airlines that deliver a good overall quality performance and provide good product standards across different travel cabins
- - 3 STARS: Awarded to airlines delivering a fair quality performance equating to the industry 'average' of acceptable product and service standards
- - 2 STARS: Shows airlines delivering a lower total quality performance, in some instances below the industry average across many rating categories
- - 1 STAR: Represents a poor quality of product delivered across the assessment sectors