Arik Air Ends Abuja – London Link

Independent Nigerian carrier Arik Air has announced that it will again cancel its daily service between the Federal capital Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and London Heathrow from the start of the Northern Summer 2012 schedule, due to capacity constraints at the UK international gateway.

This is the second consecutive season that Arik Air has been forced to close the route due to slot issues in London. It had initially suspended operations at the end of the last summer schedule but after appealing to UK authorities they facilitated the temporary continuation of the commercial lease of slots to maintain the operation. However, the interim solution was only available up to March 25, 2012 and with no new agreement in place Arik Air says it has been compelled to stop the link.

“Arik Air was compelled to suspend its services on the route following the inability of the UK and Nigeria governments to come to a solution on the 2008 Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) and access to slots in Heathrow in line with the frequencies agreed in the BASA,” the airline said in a statement.

The Nigerian carrier launched services between the two cities in November 2009 joining British Airways on the route. The UK carrier had entered the market in April 2002 after Nigeria Airways pulled out of the market ahead of its eventual closure in July 2003 and the arrival of Arik Air meant the introduction of the first head-to-head competition on the route for at least two decades.

In the past year an estimated 171,000 O&D passengers travelled on the Abuja – London Heathrow route with Arik Air accounting for around 30 per cent of this traffic. The market grew by around 10.2 per cent in the past 12 months. The arrival of competition on the route has forced down prices, according to data, with average one-way fares falling by 8.7 per cent since Arik Air’s entry. Interestingly, British Airways’ own fares have risen by 12.1 per cent during this period; the decline being accountable to Arik Air’s fares being around 61.1 per cent cheaper than its competitor.