Business
Arik Air: Nigerian father and son create and run West Africa’s largest airline
Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide – founder and Chairman of Arik Air
Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide is the founder and Chairman of West Africa’s largest airline, Arik Air – a company he founded in 2002.
Lagos-based Arik Air which began with a single Hawker jet aircraft, now boasts of a fleet of over 23 aircraft in service. Currently it has placed an order for 18 more airplanes (including 2 Boeing 747 jets). The airline has also become the national carrier of the neighboring country, Sierra Leone.
Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide – Group CEO of Arik Air
Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide was appointed Group CEO of Arik Air in 2009. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he had helped his father Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide set up and run Arik International – which is headquartered in London, UK in April 2007.
The father and son pair have together created and run an airline that now records volumes of up to 5 million passengers a year. This number is expected to increase with the airline’s planned expansion.
In addition to Nigerian and other West African destinations, Arik Air has been given authorization and flies to Trinidad & Tobago, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, London, Madrid and is in the process of obtaining approval for more destinations in Europe.
In 2011 Arik Air became a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) having successfully completed its stringent operational safety audit in 2010.
The airline is the only Nigerian airline with USA/Federal Aviation Administration accreditation enabling Arik Air to be the only West African airline that meets the standards required to fly directly into the US, resulting in flights to New York.
Air Air plans to include Atlanta, Houston and Miami as destinations in the United States.