Air Peace Expand Operation to China, India, Others, Announces Strategy to Prevent Flight Delays

• Allen Onyema, CEO of Air Peace, announced that the airline has increased its buffer aircraft from one to three to prevent flight cancellations and delays
• He emphasised that delays caused by factors like weather and bird strikes were beyond the airline's control, urging Nigerians to support their own airline
• Onyema shared plans for Air Peace to expand operations to the Caribbean, China, and India by September, and revealed that the airline currently has 49 aircraft

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace, has declared that the airline has set aside three planes to act as buffers against flight cancellations and delays.

According to him, passenger complaints about flight cancellations and delays would be addressed by the aircraft. These planes are parked as backups in the event that any of the airline's operational aircraft experiences minor or serious issues.

Speaking to reporters during a briefing at the airline's corporate headquarters in Lagos, Onyema made this statement.

He assured that the standby aircraft would always be available to passengers, even though the airline was not responsible for many of the delays and flight cancellations.

“We have increased our buffer from one aircraft to three. What this means is that we now have three aircraft parked in case any aircraft develops either a minor or major fault, be it a bird strike or whatever. This is to further tackle flight delays or cancellations,” he said.

Onyema urged Nigerians to view Air Peace as their own, clarifying that delays caused by weather, bird strikes, runway maintenance, and other factors were beyond any airline's control, according to a Punch report.

He added that foreign countries have stigmatised Nigeria and that when "the people accept to love their own," the nation will be released from these bonds.

The airline operator stated that there seems to have been a rise in complaints about the airline in recent times, citing the carrier's seating capacity as the reason.

“For instance, if Air Peace experiences a 30 percent delay, the number would be about 32 flights, compared to an airline that has its own 30 percent, which would be only three or six flights,” he said.

Airline to launch in other countries

Onyema revealed that the airline currently has 49 aircraft, 36 of which were outrightly purchased and four on wet lease. He noted that the airline will, by September, launch operations to the Caribbean nations, as well as China and India.

“We are connecting Nigerians in the Diaspora. We started these operations some months ago; we flew to St. Kitts, we also transported over 200 passengers to Jamaica, and we have increased our B777 fleet to four because our China operations will soon start. We are already discussing the acquisition of wide-bodied aircraft based on a wet lease arrangement,” he said.

Air Peace aircraft allegedly collides with large antelope

Legit.ng reported that on 10 May, an Air Peace aircraft collided with a large antelope, resulting in the unfortunate demise of the animal and rendering the plane AOG (aircraft on ground).

Following the unexpected collision, engineers swiftly moved in to evaluate the extent of the damage and commence necessary repairs to restore the aircraft to operational status.

According to Guardian, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, disclosed the incident, adding that it may have impacted Air Peace’s flight schedules.

Source: Legit.ng