we all witnessed the about turn of the yardua administration withe regards to concessions given to virgin nigeria. not long after Richard branson pulled out

one would have hoped that with the existing infrastructure and culture instuilled before his exit, the rechristened air nigeria would get off to a running start

for me, this has not been the case

it starts with my employer booking an abuja flight for me for 10.45 September 30th

i get to the airport on time, check in on time , we board on time - and two people are assigned the same seat 21d me and some one else

anyway, this is resolved by assigning the other person a seat in business class (maybe if i hadn't gotten pissed and snapped at the attendant about their incompetence)

anyway, we get to abuja - where i get my second surprise

virgin nigeria normally lands at the international wing of the airrport. they have landed at the domestic wing. plenty of confusion as even the guys from ny employer who pick me up are at the international wing. i put it down to heavy traffic from dignitaries coming in to celebrate nigeria at 50

my return flight is for 7.25

i'm pretty sure i will be done before then so i get to the counter and say i want to reschedule

there is a 4pm and a 6pm flight, which are 'fully booked'

odd, since people are coming into abj, not going out of it (independence and all that - wande coal and some other fellows were on my plane, evidently going to abj to perform - wonder why so many of our musicians are insecure attention seekers , but thats another story)

anyway i finish what i came to do, and return to the airport.

i go to the international terminal to check in, only to be told that the plane is landing and departing from the domestic terminal

i ask if this is the new modus operandi and i'm told well

plane a lands at domestic terminal, plane b lands at the international terminal , it has been like this for the past two month. no info on how to determine plane a and b

i walk to the domestic terminal. i check i n at 6 pm. i am told the flight will be delayed to 8.10. my ticket says 7.40

at 7.25 we are told the plane will be delayed

we are told this a number of times

eventually, the plane comes in at 11pm.

my boss calls in - when i tell him- he says he's had the exact same experience with them , he got home after 1am

we enter the plane at 11.30

at the staircase, my ticket is checked with a phones light - they don't even have torches. i make fun of them and they go 'na nigeria at 50'

people ask the attendants why the flight was delayed, and they get surly shrugs and no apologies

the captai makes no mention of the fact that the plane is 4 hour late

there are passenger who have missed connecting flights to joburg, atlanta

a lot of us are extremely annoyed.

no aplog, no explanation no nothing.

we have the dubious  distinction of being in the air as nigeria turns 50

as we finally exit, we get the canned thank you for flying air nigeria

like hell

will write an internal letter of protest.

when i left the airport around 12.55, it started raining cats and dogs - i got home around 1.55

oh i forgot it seems the 4 pm and 6 pm passengers were all booked for the same flight i was on

there were passenger who were complaining about that as well - so essentially virgin booked people for earlier flights while being fully aware that they would fly them at the last flight


makes me wonder about nigerians and if we can get anything right




[s][/s]

One experience and thats it - we Nigerians are quick to write off anything that is ours.

Have you not experience double seat assignment on international flights before? Big deal? Mistakes do happen.

Come on. Any little thing you experience, you go on to use it to pummel Nigeria and her people, so bad.

@labiyemmy:

One experience and thats it - we Nigerians are quick to write off anything that is ours.

Have you not experience double seat assignment on international flights before? Big deal? Mistakes do happen.

Come on. Any little thing you experience, you go on to use it to pummel Nigeria and her people, so bad.

amazing that someone based abroad is making excuses for disgraceful service

can you read at all?

a flight for 7.25 pm was delayed until 11.30 pm

no aplologiess from the flight crew

no we regret this

people missed connecting flights to international carriers that don't pull off this sort of sheet

if you have s much faith in nigeria, et your arse down here

i'm sure you are probably schooling abroad, aren't our schools good enough for you?

you must have also missed the part where i stated that my boss had the exact same experience with air nigeria

you'll soon be making excuses about arik air, who do not check their planes before every takeoff - which is why they did not find the corpse of that stowaway until the end of the working day

oyb:

amazing that someone based abroad is making excuses for disgraceful service

I seriously hate when people do that. Their backside is abroad, but hate when people with FIRST HAND knowledge of problems complain. It's easy to be patriotic when your are on the other side of the fence. Put your money where your mouth is and move back to Nigeria since there is no problem

@labiyemmy:

One experience and thats it - we Nigerians are quick to write off anything that is ours.

Have you not experience double seat assignment on international flights before? Big deal? Mistakes do happen.

Come on. Any little thing you experience, you go on to use it to pummel Nigeria and her people, so bad.

As the Yorubas say 'ba mi na omo mi, ko de inu olomo'

There's absolutely nothing wrong in asking questions. Sometimes I just feel that Nigerians are so stuck on providing the worst service possible. There's no excuse for asking for a service that you paid for. It's just unfortunate that domestic flying provides the worst possible experience.

We travelled Air Nigeria from Ghana to Lagos. Everyone was sweating profusely onboard They made the announcement that the A/C had broken down and they would fix it. Thank God it was just an hour's flight.

Took the same airline back to Ghana. again. Still no A/C. The first time I've ever been on a plane and been hot

AjanleKoko:

As the Yorubas say 'ba mi na omo mi, ko de inu olomo'

There's absolutely nothing wrong in asking questions. Sometimes I just feel that Nigerians are so stuck on providing the worst service possible. There's no excuse for asking for a service that you paid for. It's just unfortunate that domestic flying provides the worst possible experience.

thank you jare

the most galling thing is the fact that they did not apologize

all i had to worry about was driving through pourig rain, and the fact that i may have damaged my car as a result

(found out this morning )

people missed international flights and appointments. there were people telling their spouses don't wait up or some such

Well it is unfurtunate that we can not run away from Nigeria. Nigeria is ours and that is the fact. To be frank it is very painful experincing all these things, but since we don't have choice than to be the Nigerians that we are, then let us just retire to our fate and have faith that there is going to be a better Niger as long as there is life.

Come to my house in Area 11, Abuja - I will feed you fat before you realise I am in the same Nigeria with you.

Only silly minds thinks that because you are seeing things different, ut then means you dont live in Nigeria. Silly.

The point is that because you had only one experience doesnt warrant you writting it off. I fly to Europe like 20 times a year- it is not at all times that you have sweet experience on the flights.

How come you landed at local airport- and then when you were going back - you now went to the international airport -hahahaha. some people needs to ask questions, simple questions about their flight. hehehehe. Mugun,

It is so unfortunate that we treat ourselves with no respect and we expect outsiders to treat us with one. I mean why should British Airways, Emirates etc apologize for poor services when a Nigerian owned airline is not. Nigeria has a poor customer service and people are generally rude. It is a way of life in Nigeria to be rude.

Omo Alata:

We travelled Air Nigeria from Ghana to Lagos. Everyone was sweating profusely onboard They made the announcement that the A/C had broken down and they would fix it. Thank God it was just an hour's flight.

Took the same airline back to Ghana. again. Still no A/C. The first time I've ever been on a plane and been hot

ok that's just crazy!

Omo Alata:

We travelled Air Nigeria from Ghana to Lagos. Everyone was sweating profusely onboard They made the announcement that the A/C had broken down and they would fix it. Thank God it was just an hour's flight.

Took the same airline back to Ghana. again. Still no A/C. The first time I've ever been on a plane and been hot

welcome to air nigeria's involuntary weight loss program

owing to the spiraling prices of services, we have decided to graciously present all our passengers with a complimentary sauna experince. all on the house, and just so you know we care

@labiyemmy:

One experience and that's it - we Nigerians are quick to write off anything that is ours.

Have you not experience double seat assignment on international flights before? Big deal? Mistakes do happen.

Come on. Any little thing you experience, you go on to use it to pummel Nigeria and her people, so bad.

well at least there are laws and rules to protect passengers here, whenever i have flown to America from London and they have overbooked they either, give u money, upgrade u to first class plus a bit of compensation or put u in a hotel - i don't know the point u are trying to make.

This sort of nonsense happened to me once on a virgin Nigeria flight in Lagos to PH we were delayed for 4 hours and at no point did anyone try and update us or reassure us, obviously people were getting annoyed and eventally forced them to open the plane door (yes we sat on a plane for 4 hours) so they could get a flight with another airline. I simply told the air stewards or whatever they are called these days that if they had just displayed professional customer service u would not have people shouting at them, u pay for a service so one should except a certain level of service.

This is the problem in naija - people are so used to mediocrity they start thinking its acceptable

the galling aspect of it is their attitude its almost as if they have done nothing wrong, even if its not their fault- rarely the case with nigerian business they could at least sympathise with passengers having to get home late, miss connecting flights (by a wide margin), delay family members waiting at the airport or even consider the time passengers will get to some cities like Lagos at night!

The very basic form of apology these people wont care!!!

another thing I notice is the rush to defend these businesses

another cretin will look at you asking 'how much did you even pay that you are complaining'

Have yoy tried Aero before, you will never fly again. too many delays these days. on friday, the 8am and 11 am flights were delayed. passengers on that fluight were asked to wait till 6pm . while the 1.30,1.55 flights were operated without any attempt to put those 8 and 11 am passengers on it execpt if you have 'long' leg. If you think air nigeria is bad then try aero contractors, mind you even if the flight is delayed no food or drink for you so grab a bite and a bottle before you board.

@labiyemmy:

Come to my house in Area 11, Abuja - I will feed you fat before you realise I am in the same Nigeria with you.

Only silly minds thinks that because you are seeing things different, ut then means you dont live in Nigeria. Silly.

The point is that because you had only one experience doesnt warrant you writting it off. I fly to Europe like 20 times a year- it is not at all times that you have sweet experience on the flights.

How come you landed at local airport- and then when you were going back - you now went to the international airport -hahahaha. some people needs to ask questions, simple questions about their flight. hehehehe. Mugun,

Wow! Bros, you are tough o! 20 times a year to YOO-ROPE? My Gawd, You should be president o! Move over GEJ
Oh, and, I am not exactly getting my share of meals these days, if you catch my drift. Can I come and be fed too? Don't be 'sorting' only oyb Share the wealth abeg

AjanleKoko:

Wow! Bros, you are tough o! 20 times a year to YOO-ROPE? My Gawd, You should be president o! Move over GEJ
Oh, and, I am not exactly getting my share of meals these days, if you catch my drift. Can I come and be fed too? Don't be 'sorting' only oyb Share the wealth abeg

stop pouring sand in my garri

find ya own maga

this one is mine

dustydee:

Have yoy tried Aero before, you will never fly again. too many delays these days. on friday, the 8am and 11 am flights were delayed. passengers on that fluight were asked to wait till 6pm . while the 1.30,1.55 flights were operated without any attempt to put those 8 and 11 am passengers on it execpt if you have 'long' leg. If you think air nigeria is bad then try aero contractors, mind you even if the flight is delayed no food or drink for you so grab a bite and a bottle before you board.

Na wa o, so we will soon be grabbing 'minerals' and meat pie before we board from hawkers like say we dey train

^^ you guys better 'shill' when Alabiyemmy was getting his GIS degree in boring england and inventing his mapping technological software you na dey laugh now he's hit it big time !! Abuja Area 11

i hail o

oyb:

stop pouring sand in my garri

find ya own maga

this one is mine

Sorry sir

Dis Guy:

^^ you guys better 'shill' when Alabiyemmy was getting his GIS degree in boring england and inventing his mapping technological software you na dey laugh now he's hit it big time !! Abuja Area 11

virgin Nigeria has lost its virginity. there is no more pride in it.

The No A/C issue is not pecuilar to nigerian carriers, i flew turkish airlines frm lagos to istanbul and was

sweating like a christmas goaty for 30mins straight up with no word of apology,

when i asked one of the flight attendant, she was like the plane takes time to cool down?

moonraker:

The No A/C issue is not pecuilar to nigerian carriers, i flew turkish airlines frm lagos to istanbul and was

sweating like a christmas goaty for 30mins straight up with no word of apology,

when i asked one of the flight attendant, she was like the plane takes time to cool down?

Turkish Airlines na Nigerian carrier?

@ Ajanlekoko

F9, Epic Fail

Pls re-read my statement 3 times, by then, you did be able to decode that i was

trying to state the fact that nigerian carriers are not the only one with issues, turkish airlines (a widely known airliners has such issues,

moonraker:

@ Ajanlekoko

F9, Epic Fail

Pls re-read my statement 3 times, by then, you did be able to decode that i was

trying to state the fact that nigerian carriers are not the only one with issues, turkish airlines (a widely known airliners has such issues,

You're right. I missed that, sorry.

Turkish Airline o, Chicken airline e.t.c failing does not mean Nigerian carriers should do the same.
Nigeria has not emulated any of these countries good attributes, but we are quick to justify our many failings because it happens in other countries. .  that itself is the EPIC fail #hiss.

@ mr kadman

am sorry but are u talking to me?? did yu read my statement??

notice i did bash the incident that happened in nigeria here??

i mean, if one is a frequent flyer, you gonna see thing much worse than this,

At Moonraker,

I wasn't addressing the statement particularly to you. I'm glad you see it's wrong. But I'm proposing that it should not be condoned by any airline. . foreign or home.