One of Nigeria’s air carriers, Air Peace, is leading the country’s re-branding on the global stage, says the Anambra state government.
In a statement Wednesday in Awka, the state capital, the Anambra government noted that there “is no individual or organization anywhere in the world helping as much as Air Peace to re-brand Nigeria in the comity of nations, starting with the global aviation industry”.
The statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C. Don Adinuba, the state government cited the airline’s plans to commence operations into Mumbai, India, next month as “the latest brave effort by the firm to position the country strategically on the global scene”.
All Nigerians are impressed by the fact that a few months after Nigeria and India signed a bilateral air service agreement (BASA), our own airline has taken far-reaching steps to make Nigerians benefit reasonably from the deal”, declared the state government which noted that, though 25 foreign airlines operate into the country, some from multiple destinations, Nigeria has been utilizing not more than 10% of its air agreements with other nations on account of limited capacity.
Air Peace began international operations last July 3 with direct flights into the United Arab Emirates, charging passengers from Lagos to Sharjah and Dubai about half of the fares by foreign airlines on the same route.
The airline, which commenced scheduled passenger flights in 2014 a year after incorporation, scored a bull’s eye on September 14, 2018, when it signed in the residence of the American consul general in Lagos a deal worth billions of dollars with Boeing Corporation to purchase 10 brand new planes from the world’s foremost aircraft manufacturing company which is based in Seattle, Washington State.
Even the few indigenous airlines which ventured to operate on international routes were using only one wide-body aircraft each, which put them in a terrible position because any time there was a problem with the operating aircraft, it would affect their entire international operations which, in turn, affected their passengers awfully.
