Despite its recent order with Boeing (BOE, Washington National) for ten B737-8s, Air Peace (P4, Lagos) is still in talks with other manufacturers regarding potential future orders.
The Nigerian carrier's chairman, Allen Onyema, told The Nation newspaper last month that the ability to structure an acceptable financing plan had played a crucial role in the MAX order.
“We struck the deal to acquire airplanes from Boeing because our financial partners, Fidelity Bank, were excited over our template for repayment," he said.
"Apart from Fidelity, other Nigerian banks are ready to undertake such deals for us to get brand new planes that will change passengers’ perception about Nigerian carriers. Apart from the new Boeing airplanes, we are also in discussions with Airbus, ATR - Avions de Transport Régional, and Bombardier Aerospace to acquire their brands of aircraft."
“The new planes, besides changing passengers’ perception, will also alter the narrative about the economics of airline business by ensuring reliability, reducing cost of aircraft maintenance and fueling.”
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Air Peace currently has twenty-two aircraft on its books including eight active B737-300s, five B737-500s (of which four are active), one B777-200(ER) (inactive), one B777-300 (inactive), one Do328-300, and six E145s (of which three are active). It currently serves 13 towns and cities across Nigeria while internationally, it serves Accra (Ghana), Banjul (Gambia), Dakar Blaise Diagne International (Senegal), Freetown (Sierra Leone), and Monrovia Roberts (Liberia).
Onyema said the B777s would be used to open up flights to Dubai International and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November.
“We are also working on getting permits to begin operations to Houston Intercontinental, London, Mumbai International, Guangzhou, and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo,” he added. “It is not just enough for government to give approval for Nigerian carriers to operate abroad but the government should facilitate the fast tracking of their permits and also ensure that they are not frustrated by international aero politics.”
Onyema also bemoaned excessive charges being levied at various airports across West Africa which, he said, had cost Air Peace over NGN1 billion naira (USD2.75 million) in losses over the past six months.
"What we are making here is being used to sustain our operations on these routes because we know we have to develop and maintain consistency on them to keep going," he said. “However, the airlines from these countries come into Nigeria even on multiple routes and they pay very little to our own government. So, there must be reciprocity of charges."
