Arik Air, Nigeria’s leading commercial airline, is to launch its first transatlantic route - from New York, JFK to Lagos - on 30 November 2009, providing the only direct flight available on the route.

The airline will operate three-weekly services scheduled from New York to Lagos on Monday, Wednesday and Friday departing JFK Terminal 4 at 22.00 and arriving at 14.40. Inbound services from Lagos Murtala Muhammed Airport will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday departing at 23.20 arriving in JFK at 05.50.

The Lagos-New York-Lagos route is to be serviced by an Airbus A340-500, fitted with the very best in in-flight comfort and style. Premier Class passengers will have individual secluded booth areas with fully flat beds featuring a new generation in-built massage system complete with a hand held 3.5” inch LD screen unit controlling seat and lighting functions with integrated 17” touch screen TV.

In addition, those flying in Premier Class will be able to enjoy an on-board bar lounge facility. The bar area is situated in the centre of the Premier cabin and has bar seats as well as a surrounding seating area for passengers to enjoy the complementary bar offering. Premier passengers can also relax and freshen up in the business class lounge: “The Lounge” at JFK T4, both on departing and arriving flights.

The Economy Class cabin format provides a new, more comfortable experience as passengers will be able to enjoy an extra 50% leg room in the spacious cabin and Arik is also offering the most generous checked baggage allowance available - 3 x 30kgs bags in Premier Class and 2 x30kgs in Economy Class.

The A340-500 aircraft will be operated by Arik Air’s partner, Hi Fly Transportes Aeros S.A. and Arik has appointed leading airline and tourism representatives, Aviareps Inc, to handle all sales and ticketing activities on its behalf. Sales for the route commenced today. Contact Aviareps on 001 877 900 2745 or uscustomersevices@arikairint.com for more information.

The launch of the New York route from Arik Air’s hub in Lagos is part of an aggressive international expansion by the growing airline. It will become the airline’s third long-haul route, following the launch of daily flights to London (15 December 2008) and Johannesburg (1 June 2009). On 1st June 2009, Arik also commenced operations to destinations in West Africa including Banjul (The Gambia), Dakar (Senegal) and Freetown (Sierra Leone), adding to its Accra (Ghana) and Cotonou (Benin) operations, thereby consolidating on a long-term strategy to make the West African region more accessible to travellers.

Arik Air currently offers connections to 18 points domestically and has already secured traffic rights to other major international destinations including Paris, Dubai, Sao Paulo and Beijing. In addition, the airline is planning to open new routes throughout the African continent, such as Egypt, Angola and Kenya.

Commenting on the airline’s launch to New York, Dr Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, CEO of Arik Air International, said: “We are all truly excited to be introducing Arik Air to the USA, with the launch of direct flights from JFK to Lagos.

“On 30th October, we celebrated Arik Air’s third anniversary, reflecting on our achievements and the rapid growth we have experienced to-date. The commencement of operations to New York is a real milestone for the airline, a major achievement in Arik Air’s international expansion plans. Having consolidated our position domestically as Nigeria’s leading airline, we now continue to pursue our goal to make Africa more accessible to the business traveller and the global Nigerian diaspora.

“As ever, we will strive to achieve our ultimate aim: to deliver a world class service to every passenger, to challenge perceptions and exceed expectations”.