As you guys know, I love following start-up airlines and other airlines with lofty goals. Heck, I think I’ve written more stories about Air Belgium than they’ve operated flights out of Brussels Charleroi.
Africa is a continent that no doubt has a ton of potential when it comes to aviation, and we’re going to see a lot of growth there over the coming years and decades.
The challenge is that at times it can be tough to distinguish those “airlines” that are serious from those that aren’t. When it comes to projects that may never take off:
- You have Global Ghana Airlines, which doesn’t have permission to operate from any authorities and doesn’t have a plane, but they’ve been claiming they’ll launch operations shortly
- You have Air Zimbabwe, which is possibly the most corrupt airline project the industry has ever seen
But then you have airlines like Air Peace, which is a Nigerian airline that has been operating for several years, but I’m still sort of scratching my head.
What is Air Peace?
Air Peace is a privately owned Nigerian airline, which currently operates a fleet of just under two dozen planes (including 737s, 777s, and Embraers). Up until now the airline has been primarily operating domestic flights within Nigeria, as well as international flights within West Africa.
The airline was founded by 2013, and they’ve actually successfully operated hundreds of flights. So this isn’t like Global Ghana Airlines or Air Zimbabwe.
The airline admits to losing money. In the past year they’ve lost 1.2 billion Nigerian Naira, which is about 3.4 million USD. The CEO of the company notes all of the hostilities faced by Nigerian airlines outside of the country, and is urging the government to protect the airline against charges being imposed on them when operating outside the country, and to reciprocate those charges.
“There is a gang up against Nigerian airlines. The Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM) is geared towards fleecing Nigeria and nothing more.
The government should reciprocate these charges to also discourage them from coming into Nigeria.
Air Peace may soon go to court to ban some airlines from operating in Nigeria if the government fails to do something about this exploitation and unhealthy competition.”
Air Peace’s huge international expansion
This is where stuff gets interesting. Up until this point Air Peace is a regional African airline losing a moderate amount of money, but at least they’re consistently operating flights.
But Air Peace has very, very big goals, and wants to become a big international airline. They already have three 777s (which they acquired from Emirates), and they expect to get one more soon.
Next month, Air Peace plans to launch flights to Johannesburg, South Africa, and to Sharjah, UAE.
That’s only the beginning, though. Before the end of the year, the airline wants to launch flights to Houston, London, Guangzhou, and Mumbai.
Now, they do seem serious about Sharjah and Johannesburg, as those routes are imminent. Whether or not the longer routes actually happen is anyone’s guess, though.
Bottom line
Air Peace is expected to launch flights to Johannesburg and Sharjah next month, so it looks like they are indeed moving forward with long haul flights. I was skeptical that would happen, though it looks like they’re doing it.
Now I’m curious to see if Guangzhou, Houston, and London happen. That sure would be interesting to see…
Please we Nigerians living in Germany need slots too. We need direct flight from Frankfurt am Main Germany - LAGOS Nigeria.
Please come to our rescue.
Just flew LOS-KAN on Air peace ok Thursdays. Saw the 777 on the tarmac in Kano Airport. Impressive jet. Hope it works for IAH!
I agree with NNLL's comments. I have flown with AirPeace and in the Nigerian domestic market, they are one of the more reliable players (you can check out the full review on my blog). They have more aircraft and lower fares as compared to their competitors. While there is a lot of ambition, it is true that implementation, infrastructure, and completion are challenges. Also, will the service and reliability be up to par so that...
I agree with NNLL's comments. I have flown with AirPeace and in the Nigerian domestic market, they are one of the more reliable players (you can check out the full review on my blog). They have more aircraft and lower fares as compared to their competitors. While there is a lot of ambition, it is true that implementation, infrastructure, and completion are challenges. Also, will the service and reliability be up to par so that Nigerians will want to choose AirPeace over current options such as Lufthansa, Virgin, KLM, or Delta?
Nigeria is a country of amazing hardworking citizens and highly corrupt kleptocratic government.
Nigerinas succeed inspite of barriers thrown up by their corrupt government. I expect the biggest barrier to Air Peace effort to come from their highly corrupt federal government.
Let hope the make Enugu airport their base.
Hey Alex, be very careful. Am a Nigerian, that "friend" smells SCAM. Don't trust those emails claiming to be "princes", you'll end up loosing a whole lot of money. My two pence.
I LIKE THEIR SETUP BETTER THAN AA!!!!!! CREW PROBABLY FRIENDLIER TOO!
Never ceases to amaze how all you have to do is say the word Nigeria and get endless variations on the same stupid and mildly-offensive joke. If all you know about Nigeria is that emails come from there, I suggest you take the time you were going to spend writing about your "friend the prince" and go learn a little about one of the worlds most vibrant, diverse and culturally influential nations. thx.
If the foundation of the business is really out of pocket and not part of what Nigerians suppose to be cared for, I believe that it will thrive. By the grace of God. That means something good has actually come from Nigeria. Kudos@
It's been said, but a trip report on this would be sublime.
These routes all make sense especially if they're looking for corporate accounts. If they're clever about it, they should also offer smooth connections to the broader West African region as there are a lot of resource projects in the whole area, not just Nigeria. Will be interesting to see.
So many dumb american and westerner think all nigerians are scammers whereas they have been scamming and exploiting the continent of africa since inception .Royal niger company a British company while trading palm oil with the Nembe , Opobo (jaja of opobo) and other kingdoms around this region deceived and invaded this region while killing the natives only to coin out a name called Nigeria (lord luggard ) only to sell it at the price...
So many dumb american and westerner think all nigerians are scammers whereas they have been scamming and exploiting the continent of africa since inception .Royal niger company a British company while trading palm oil with the Nembe , Opobo (jaja of opobo) and other kingdoms around this region deceived and invaded this region while killing the natives only to coin out a name called Nigeria (lord luggard ) only to sell it at the price of 865,000 pounds to the British government . Until this day , this region has had no peace as it has gone from one exploitation to the other , including those perpetuated by Shell and Eni officials over 5billion dollars stolen from crude oil exploration from Nigeria thereby keeping the people poor , miserable while their environment and water is being polluted .
I just sent My Nigerian friend $10000 and we will meet in London on 01/06/2019 where I will get the $5million dollars of the 20 million that was taken from his family. It's great to be an American passport holder
Like many things in Nigeria, this will probably fail. The government will demand free flights which will make the airline lose money.
Weird, ATL should be much better than IAH since Atlanta has larger nigerian populations than Houston ( basically very a few in Houston) . I doubt their plan would be reality.
Alex, my inbox is filled with one Nigerian scam, and 2,000 American ones.
I've flown air peace a number of times domestically and they are ok, at least in comparison to some of the other carriers, which have a severe problem with one-time performance. I'm very sceptical of the company's ability to manage long haul flights. Other Nigerian companies, such as Arik, have tried and failed. If they can get long-haul to the US off the ground, it should help its domestic service significantly, as could convince embassies,...
I've flown air peace a number of times domestically and they are ok, at least in comparison to some of the other carriers, which have a severe problem with one-time performance. I'm very sceptical of the company's ability to manage long haul flights. Other Nigerian companies, such as Arik, have tried and failed. If they can get long-haul to the US off the ground, it should help its domestic service significantly, as could convince embassies, oil companies, etc., That they are safe to fly, which is another big issue flying domestically in Nigeria. It's funny, like many things in Nigeria, there is so much potential, but implementation is very challenging.
hey alex be very careful with nigerians especially when they talk about business with you.
i am sure its a scam
Are those 777s Emirates leases? Biz class looks damn similar.
I have a nigerian friend who might be interested in invest in the airline. He contacted me with a nice and very well written email. He told me he is a prince, but he has some problem with an inheritance. I think it’s the beginning of a great friendship.
Now maintenance will be a big challenge. Wonder how much they could keep up with the Emirates level - i.e. touchscreen seat controller panel, electronic recline, functioning IFE etc.
I think we’ll need to see a trip report on IAH-LOS-CAN if they make these routes happen.
Houston is an oil company route- I want to say United used to fly that- and the launch of that probably depends on whether the industry big players are willing to commit to it. So call it an alternative to the charter options used since the United pull out
I wasn't aware of this airline, but they do seem quite nice especially since they have 3 777's already.