On March 31th, passengers on an Arik flight from Lagos to New York were subjected to hardship as there was almost an hour flight delayed departure plus the airplane's air condition was not working, leading to passengers protesting on board. (Read here). The Airline company has issued a statement this morning apologizing for the discomfort and inconvenience. Their statement below...
To all guest who travelled on flight W3107 (from Lagos, Nigeria to JFK, New York) on 31st March 2014, Arik Air offers an unconditional apology, for the inconvenience and discomfort caused by both the 55 minute delayed flight departure and the failure of the airplane’s air-conditioning system prior to said departure. Continue...
In this regard, the experienced schedule delay was a result
of complications related to the cargo loading process as managed by Arik
Air’s contracted ground-handling agent. Unfortunately, whilst efforts
were rightly being expended to overcome the cargo loading difficulties, the
backup air conditioning unit (which should have been provided by our ground
handling agent) was declared unserviceable and thus unavailable for use.
Upon resolution of the cargo loading difficulties, the air-conditioning system
was finally restored as the aircraft prepared for immediate departure under its
own engine power.
Arik Air, and its Management, acknowledges that the handling
of the situation on board was less than satisfactory and falls well short of
the high standards of service that its esteemed travelling guest have come to
expect of us (and which we demand of ourselves). Arik Air’s
Management wishes to assure our esteemed guests that the necessary remedial
measures have been initiated to prevent the repetition of such an incident to
the extent possible/controllable.
Arik Air is committed to providing a safe and comfortable
air transport service to every guest and on every journey. Arik Air wishes to
thank all guests who endured this inconvenience patiently, despite both the
trying circumstance and the unfortunate exhibition of aggression, to both
people and property, by a minority of unruly passengers onboard the aircraft.
Arik Air values, greatly, its relationship with her
guest. Hence, to all the affected guests, please note that we intend to
pursue the restoration of the trust and faith vested in us by your
good-selves. In this respect, Arik Air shall be contacting each affected
guest on flight W3107 31st March 2014, to express these sentiments
(and seek such restitution of trust) individually.
Once again, please accept our humble and sincere apologies.
You and your patronage are dear to us. We exist to serve you and we look
forward to doing so again in the near future.
