Nigeria’s largest airline Arik Air plans to nearly double its fleet to 52 planes within 10 years and has already ordered some of them from Boeing, a source at the company said.
Most of the carrier’s existing fleet are Boeing planes and the source, who did not wish to be identified, said the airline would buy most of the new planes from the US jet maker. The source did not say how many had already been ordered or the value of the purchases.
Privately owned Arik Air needs more planes as it aims to add international routes and increase services, including daily flights to New York, to offset a slowdown at home and bring in more hard currency.
It is also seeking new investors to help it grow and has said it wants to raise up to US$1 billion through a private share placement next year and a possible initial public offering (IPO).
Founded a decade ago and now west Africa’s biggest carrier by passenger numbers, Arik Air has appointed advisers for the share placement and potential IPO in Lagos, with a secondary listing in London.
“We hope to maintain our market leadership and our growth strategy involving substantially increasing our fleet to 52 aircrafts by 2025,” said the managing director Chris Ndulue in Lagos marking the carrier’s 10 years of operations.
“We plan to … put our footprint in Europe, Asia and Latin America and the Middle East, and this requires additional aircraft,” he said.
Arik Air’s home market has been hit by falling demand as a currency crisis in Africa’s top economy deepens, due in part to the oil price slump. United and Iberia both stopped services to Nigeria this year and Emirates and Kenya Airways have announced plans to suspend flights to Nigeria’s capital Abuja by next month.
Mr Ndulue said Arik Air would also look at various funding options from international banks despite dollar shortages and the economic recession at home, which had affected businesses.
The carrier currently has a fleet of 28 aircraft, mostly Boeings but also three Airbus planes and nine Bombardier aircraft.
New routes and services would help the airline to generate foreign currency.
Last week Arik announced plans to start daily flights to New York in the next six months, up from three times a week, and start flights to Rome and Paris within 18 to 24 months. The carrier flies mainly within western and central Africa, as well as to London and Johannesburg.
A plunge in Nigeria’s naira currency has increased the cost of importing jet fuel and hurt profit margins as many passengers pay fares in naira.
* Reuters
business@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE medallists at Asian Games 2023
Gold
Magomedomar Magomedomarov – Judo – Men’s +100kg
Khaled Al Shehi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Faisal Al Ketbi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Asma Al Hosani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -52kg
Shamma Al Kalbani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -63kg
Silver
Omar Al Marzooqi – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Bishrelt Khorloodoi – Judo – Women’s -52kg
Khalid Al Blooshi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Mohamed Al Suwaidi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -69kg
Balqees Abdulla – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -48kg
Bronze
Hawraa Alajmi – Karate – Women’s kumite -50kg
Ahmed Al Mansoori – Cycling – Men’s omnium
Abdullah Al Marri – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Team UAE – Equestrian – Team showjumping
Dzhafar Kostoev – Judo – Men’s -100kg
Narmandakh Bayanmunkh – Judo – Men’s -66kg
Grigorian Aram – Judo – Men’s -90kg
Mahdi Al Awlaqi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -77kg
Saeed Al Kubaisi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Shamsa Al Ameri – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -57kg
2021 World Triathlon Championship Series
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
SPEC SHEET: SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP5
Display: Main – 6.7" FHD+ Dynamic Amoled 2X, 2640 x 1080, 22:9, 425ppi, HDR10+, up to 120Hz; cover – 3/4" Super Amoled, 720 x 748, 306ppi
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 4nm, octa-core; Adreno 740 GPU
Memory: 8GB
Capacity: 256/512GB
Platform: Android 13, One UI 5.1.1
Main camera: Dual 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) + 12MP wide (f/1.8), OIS
Video: 4K@30/60fps, full-HD@60/240fps, HD@960fps
Front camera: 10MP (f/2.2)
Battery: 3700mAh, 25W fast charging, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless
Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC (Samsung Pay)
I/O: USB-C
Cards: Nano-SIM + eSIM; no microSD slot
Colours: Cream, graphite, lavender, mint; Samsung.com exclusives – blue, grey, green, yellow
In the box: Flip 4, USB-C-to-USB-C cable
Price: Dh3,899 / Dh4,349
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Sweet Tooth
Creator: Jim Mickle
Starring: Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar, Stefania LaVie Owen
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 0
Wolves 2 (Traore 80', 90+4')
Results
5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).
6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.
9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
Company profile
Name: Tabby
Founded: August 2019; platform went live in February 2020
Founder/CEO: Hosam Arab, co-founder: Daniil Barkalov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Payments
Size: 40-50 employees
Stage: Series A
Investors: Arbor Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Wamda Capital, STV, Raed Ventures, Global Founders Capital, JIMCO, Global Ventures, Venture Souq, Outliers VC, MSA Capital, HOF and AB Accelerator.
Race card
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m