Air Peace lauded for providing affordable fares on London route

By Chinelo Obogo

Nigerians have commended Air Peace for offering an alternative to existing carriers by lowering fares on the Nigeria to London route. The airline has been praised for offering a more affordable alternative to existing carriers which has broken the dominance of two airlines on the Lagos-London route.

The Deputy Zonal Commander, Advocacy and Sensitisation, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Dr. Aloysius Nworisa, told Daily Sun that Air Peace has helped Nigeria travel to the UK with cheaper fares and has made it possible for middle income earners to travel; unlike when no Nigerian carrier is flying to Europe and the fares were hitting the rooftops.

“Air Peace started the London operation. What this means is that Nigerians will spend less on flight tickets if more Nigerian carriers are enabled to fly international routes. The Nigerian government should continue to support Air Peace and other Nigerian airlines, especially now that it has become intentional about protecting Nigerian carriers against other predatory businesses, including foreign airlines,” Nworisa said.

The Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace, Mrs. Toyin Olajide, said the airline has high passenger loads, with economy class fully booked for the next 60 days and strong business class bookings. She said in the flight it operated on Sunday, June 30, 2024, the economy seats were fully booked and out of the 42 seats in the business class, 41 seats were occupied. She revealed that the airline caters to a diverse clientele, including Nigerians traveling between the US or China and Lagos, who can take advantage of cheaper connecting flights, Nigerians bringing elderly parents to or from the UK and middle-income earners who can now afford to travel to London due to Air Peace’s competitive fares.

“Our system did not advertise our first class seats, an error, which has been corrected. So, what it means is that we recorded very high load factor, only the 12 seats in the first class and one business class seat; that is, 13 seats were empty out of the 274 seats capacity aircraft. We thank Nigerians. We appreciate the fact that they are happy with the airline.

“We recently upgraded two passengers who flew from US to London and used our flight to Lagos. We upgraded them from economy class to business class in appreciation of their commitment and desire to patronize us. But they also take advantage of the cheap flights between Europe and the US and our flights are also affordable; so, this enables them to save a lot of money.

“Because our cabin crew have imbibed the African ways of attending to the aged, many Nigerians prefer to use Air Peace to fly their aged parents. We care for them as we care for our own parents. Cabin crew pay extra attention to them and ensure they are happy. We take extra care to serve them. In fact, some Nigerians send their parents unaccompanied through our airline,” the COO said.

She also revealed that travel agencies have benefited from Air Peace’s generous commission structure, offering a 9 per cent commission and other incentives, at a time when many airlines have reduced or eliminated commissions, adding that this initiative, supported by the current National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), aims to regularise industry practices and support travel agencies.