The Nigerian carrier announced today that it plans to start three flights weekly from Lagos to JFK. This is the first North American destination for Arik and its second route out of Africa (one being London).
Each flight will be operated by one of two A340-500s (CS-TFW and CS-TFX), both wet leased from HiFly. Inbound flights arrive on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 5:50AM, and outbound flights depart on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00PM. The reason for these spotter unfriendly times is to “provide the airline’s guests with the option to connect to and from Nigerian domestic as well as Regional African points”, according to the airline’s most recent press release. This will be Arik Air’s first transatlantic service.
You may view the full press release here.