I once heard someone say that if it flies in the sky and has Nigeria as part of its name, it's doomed.
If you think back to when virgin Atlantic started flying Nigerian routes, everything seemed as smooth as can be; then Virgin Nigeria came along and it went down hill for me from there. The issues I had with the airline scarred me for life. From not enough fuel to not enough seats to not enough planes... I mean, anything that could or couldn't go wrong with an airline went wrong with this one and this was just the beginning...
Virgin Nigeria changed to Air Nigeria probably while I was mid air to Gambia cause I boarded a Virgin Nigeria flight and by the time I landed, it was Air Nigeria. I have had a number of painful experiences with Air Nigeria but I'll just go with the most recent.
Now, on Friday, May 13th 2011 (note the date) I made my way to the airport with B, after spending 3 days in Lagos. Got to the airport at about 5pm and got a flight on Air Nigeria which was scheduled to leave at 7pm.
3hrs and two 30 minute delays later, B is called up to customer service and after what seems like a lifetime, they tried to get B off the flight cause we booked last minute apparently. Obviously if you know B, then you know how that conversation went.
Come 10pm, we are still at the airport, highly irritated and watching everyone curse at the airline. Friends are being made and alliances are being formed incase there was any need to sue.
Finally, we are called to board the aircraft and first thing we notice is the lack of first class seats and a bunch of pissed off first class ticket holders.
B and I go straight to the back and watch drama unfold.... People fighting over seats and who should seat in front based on political achievements, etc. About an hr and a half later, and a few threats to disembark the aircraft, we finally take off. Take off time: 10.50pm
30 to 45minutes later, we experience some turbulence that can only be described as spiritual. I scoot closer to B who takes my hand and we say a prayer or four.! 50 minutes into the flight, we are told that due to bad weather in Abuja, strong winds and poor visibility, we will be unable to land, so we'll have to head back to Lagos.
B and I look at each other and burst out laughing. I'll let you imagine the reaction of all the other passengers. At this point, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Gisting with B all the way back made the journey bearable. Arrival time in Lagos: 1.05am.
We get to the terminal and wait to be addresed and the speech goes like this. "we are sorry for any inconveniences caused, due to bad weather in Abuja, we were unable to land but the good news is, we are ready to go back because the weather is better now". I look at the time, 1.45am. "please pick up your bags and we will check you in again, and take off when the plane has been refueled. Also note that the current pilot is tired so the director of operations will wake up from sleep and come fly the plane himself." so we are looking at a departure for about 5am. On the other hand, there was an option to reschedule the flight for the next day...
B looks at me and we both know we are not waiting for this flight. Not tonight, not ever. So we slip out of the airport quietly to go salvage what's left of the 'night'.
