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African dream
01 September 2006
Arik Air stepped into the Nigerian aviation market when many others were reluctant. Its first delivery of aircraft could be the beginning of an African dawn.
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[arik air; nigerian aviation;]
Not many financiers or manufacturers would jump at the opportunity to be involved in the Nigerian aviation industry.
In addition to a poor infrastructure, a passenger jet crash last year that killed 117 people after take-off from Lagos madehas made companies increasingly sceptical about the country's aviation market.
After Virgin secured the international route market, operators, financiers and lessors felt that opportunities in the country were already taken. Not only had one of the world's biggest airlines captured the market, but also companies were reluctant to enter a country where any new projects were prone to long waits.
Taking these experiences with a pinch of salt, JIA Arumeni-Johnson, a local businessman with a 20-year history in the engineering sector, focused on creating an airline to serve domestic and West African routes. Two years after throwing his weight behind Arik Air, the visionary has the support of Bombardier, Export Development Canada...
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