By Adekunle Williams and Solomon Asowata
Lagos – Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, has taken delivery of its second Embraer 145 jet, to boost connectivity within Nigeria.
Mr Chris Iwarah, Corporate Communications Manager of the airline, said this in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.
He said that the aircraft, which arrived from the United States, touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 7.10 p.m. on Friday.
Iwarah said the arrival of the new aircraft marked 5N-BVD and named Chinonye Ezeani (Nee Onyema), was another proof that the airline was serious about its pledge to transform air travel in Nigeria, the West Coast of Africa and beyond.
According to him, the airline received the first of six 50-seater new generation Embraer 145 jets acquired on Jan. 31 and immediately set up a subsidiary, Air Peace Hopper to manage its plan to connect routes that some airlines in the country shy away from.
He said:” The arrival of Chinonye Ezeani (Nee Onyema ) has proved beyond doubt that we are indeed serious about our pledge to end the travel nightmares of the unserved and underserved cities of Nigeria.
“It is our vision to democratise air travel in Nigeria. We are driven by the passion and belief that no one or city should be left behind.
“As soon as we secure the approval of the regulatory authorities, we will start flight operations with our Embraer 145 jets.”
Iwarah said that Air Peace would operate into the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) Base in Port Harcourt and connect routes such as Enugu-Kano-Enugu, Benin-Port-Harcourt-Benin, Port-Harcourt-Kano-Port-Harcourt, Lagos-Warri-Port-Harcourt-Warri-Lagos and Lagos-Warri-Abuja-Warri.
He said that the airline would also operate Lagos-Kaduna-Lagos, Lagos-Sokoto-Lagos, Abuja-Sokoto-Abuja, Abuja-Bauchi-Abuja, Lagos- Markurdi-Lagos, Lagos-Jos-Lagos, among others.
“It is a whole new experience we are bringing to air travel in Nigeria and the West Coast of Africa.
“We are pursuing our expansion project with a lot of grit. Our pledge to fix air travel in Nigeria and the West Coast of Africa is not an empty talk.
“In three years, we have increased our fleet to a size of 24 aircraft. We are quite serious about our business model.
“It is both sustainable and economically impactful. “We will continue to deliver the best flight experience to our loyal guests and prioritise their safety and comfort, ” Iwarah said.
He said the carrier was finalising arrangements for the launch of its flights to Kano and Yola on Feb. 12 and 15 respectively as well as Freetown, Banjul and Dakar on Feb. 19.
Iwarah said the airline would soon start flights to Dubai, Sharjar, London, Houston, Guangzhou, Mumbai and Johannesburg.