Why did passengers of Arik Flight W3107 'forgive' Arik Management?

We followed the unsavoury reports from Arik Air Flight W3107 from Lagos to New York on March 31st 2014 where a malfunctioning Air conditioning system on the plane led to a horrendous 'heat warming' experience for passengers on board. Two video clips from uncomfortable travellers aboard that flight went viral and as usual Nigerians seized the opportunity to throw tantrums at Arik Airline with some commentators making reference previous unpleasant experiences with the same airline.

 Arik Air officials, who had earlier claimed on twitter that the videos were doctored, eventually issued a statement saying that they were sorry.

Part of the statement reads, "To all guest who travelled on flight W3107 (from Lagos, Nigeria to JFK, New York) on 31st March 2014,Arik Air offers an unconditional apology, for the inconvenience and discomfort caused by both the 55 minute delayed flight departure, and the failure of the airplane’s air-conditioning system prior to said departure."

Beyond the apologies, Nigeria Brand Police had expected that by now we should have had multiple lawsuits against Arik Airlines for the trauma it must have put its passengers through. The outcome of this lawsuit should have been a descent financial (or otherwise) compensation to all passengers on that flight.

Unfortunately, it seems most passengers on that flight simply told Arik Air to ‘go and sin no more’.

We believe that airlines cannot afford to display the slightest form of negligence in-flight, and when they do, they should be punished severely even if the plane eventually made a successful journey.

Our people just don’t know how to use lawsuits to 'chop better money' from erring corporate/service delivery organisations in Nigeria.