#ThanksArikAir

In a previous post we discussed travelling by road, now it’s time to talk about traveling by air. I love travelling by air for many reasons, the greatest being the convenience and speed of it all. Travelling by air in Nigeria, has got to be some of the fastest travelling I’ve ever done in my life. To get from one part of the country to the other by plane is literally one hour! #Score.

But with the good comes the bad. Like I stated previously Nigeria is great, but there’s definitely room for improvement. Since I’ve been back I’ve flown several times and I’ve used two out of the three major airlines in the country. The first time I flew from Lagos to Abuja, I took Arik Air. Worst decision, EVER!!

My flight was scheduled to leave around 7:30 am, it did not leave until about 2 or 3pm.  My aunt rushed me to the airport by 6:30am. By the time I arrived, I assumed I’d be checking in since it was an hour to the flight. The woman behind the desk, told me it wasn’t time and that they would call us shortly. 7:30 came, surely we should be on the flight by now. NOPE, still waiting. Every time I went to ask about the check in time, the people at the counter would look at me as if I was distracting them from the oh so important phone they were playing on. Umm excuse me, can you do your job please? Thanks! We did not check in until 11 am. Once we checked in we sat in the waiting area until about 2 or 3pm to board the flight. I was supposed to reach my final destination by 8:30 am or 9am, but instead I did not arrive until around 3 something. Yay customer service!! Best flight ever! 😑

You would think that after that horrible experience, I would never fly with them again, right? Wrong! After my horrible experience, I started flying with a different airline however, I had to make a quick trip to Ikom (town before my village) and all flights were super expensive. The only cheap flight available was of course… Arik Air. That’s because no one wants to fly with their triflin’, flight delaying, rude attendant having, behind…okay I’m back, sorry guys! As I was saying, Arik was the cheapest, so I swallowed my pride, emotion, and good sense and paid for the ticket.

I should have known it would be bad when they rescheduled the flight as I was paying online. Lol. I should have also known it was bad when I did not receive an online receipt and did not receive the e-ticket confirmation. I should have also known it was bad, when there was no line or banner for their counter when I arrived at the airport. Every other airline had some line or banner but not Arik, they wanted their customers to play hide and seek. If those weren’t clear warnings to abort, I should have been known when my boarding pass was handwritten. Yeah that’s right, my boarding pass was handwritten. Someone took the time to handwrite EVERYONE'S boarding pass, rather than print it out. You know, they were just going the extra mile.

So my flight was scheduled for 12:55pm. I arrived at 12pm to receive my handwritten boarding pass. The woman at the counter confirmed that the flight would be on schedule. Yay!! I entered the gate and waited with the rest of the country with the common sense not to fly Arik. 12:30pm came, no boarding. 12:55 came, we were still seated at the gate. By 1:30 pm they made an announcement that the flight had been rescheduled for 5:15pm. And at that point I was over it. It was my Lagos trip all over again. I wouldn’t have been so upset if my flight destination was my final destination. But seeing that I had to fly to another city then travel by road to Ikom, I couldn’t wait for Arik and risk the night journey. That would not have been safe, especially since I was travelling by myself. So Arik Air, delayed my flight, ruined my trip, and prevented me from seeing my dad, whom I haven’t seen in six months by the way. I’m now patiently waiting for 15 business days to pass so I can get my refund. #ThanksArik