Air Peace Gets New Aircraft, To Deliver 13 Others By 2022

Nigeria’s largest indigenous airline has taken delivery of its third new E195-E2  aircraft.

The airline is also expecting 13 more Embraer 195-E2 aircraft from the Embraer Aircraft Manufacturing Company in Brazil by the end of 2022.

Allen Onyema, Chairman, Air Peace gave the hint while launching the new delivery on Thursday in Abuja.

Onyema said a total of 30 aircraft are expected from the company.

Two aircraft would join its fleet by August, while eight others would be delivered before the end of the year according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

Onyema said the airline would activate payment for additional 10 aircraft by the beginning of 2023.

The new Embraer 195-E2 arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, at about 3:15pm

He said, “In 2019, we announced the acquisition of 30 Embraer 195-E2 aircraft, which included 13 firm orders and 17 purchase right orders from the Embraer Aircraft company.

“The new additions would be deployed to new routes on local, regional and international destinations.”

The airline disclosed that when the 30 new aircrafts are acquired and become fully operational, about 17,000 jobs would be created.

This would increase the company’s  workforce from the current 3,000 personnel.

Onyema said, “By next year, we hope to receive all the 13 planes we made firm orders for and by the end of 2023, we intend to activate payment for another 10 of the aircraft brand, which will bring the total to 23.

“We have new routes that we want to deploy the aircraft to. We have new routes that we have just opened and more routes will still be explored in the coming months.

“We are opening Gombe very soon and our intention is to open up this country. We will also connect the North-East with the North-West and other routes. Owerri-Kaduna and other routes will also be connected.

“These aircraft would hit the West Coast and the African region, as the airline will be strengthened further with the inclusion of other routes like Douala (Cameroon), Congo Kinshasa, Niamey (Niger), Dakar (Senegal), as well as Freetown and Liberia.

“We have been designated to operate to so many destinations by the government. We have over 20 destinations, which is very commendable.”

The airline is also planning to commence the Lagos-London route, Onyema said, adding that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was helping it fast-tracking the process.

The Director General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, said, “Today is another milestone and a paradigm shift and this is something that I have not seen since my days at the Nigerian Airways, when they were purchasing the right aircraft for the right routes.

“Air Peace is not only buying aircraft, but buying the right size aircraft for the Nigerian market.

“The Embraer aircraft is the right aircraft, it breaks even with low passenger figures, your maintenance cost is low, your operational cost is also low.

“Another factor is that the new aircraft is absolutely great for the environment, because it does less pollution. I am really proud that I am DG when this paradigm shift is happening.”