Air Peace has said that it is flying to China not as a new entrant but as an airline that is familiar with the Asian country’s terrain.
The chief operating officer of the airline, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olajide, stated this yesterday during the carrier’s inaugural flight at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport.
“We are officially adding the continent of Asia to our network of continents, with the commencement of initial one-weekly flight to Guangzhou-China.
“If you have been following the growth of Air Peace, you will be familiar with the fact that the Chinese airspace is not new to us, as we have successfully operated several evacuation/special flights to the country at different times in the past, especially in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“So, we’re going into China, not as newcomers, but as an airline that is technically and operationally acclimatized with the Chinese terrain,” she said.
Olajide promised air travellers, especially those who fly the Guangzhou route the “best-in-class flight experience, which is characteristic of the Air Peace brand.”
She also disclosed that the airline’s route expansion strategy would not with Guangzhou operations.
“India is next and Israel is in the works. Also planned for subsequent launch are Malabo in Equatorial Guinea and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We will continue to grow our route network as well as modernise our fleet strategically,” she added.
The chief operating officer further said the airline “currently boasts of a network of twenty domestic routes, seven regional routes and two international destinations, including Dubai and Johannesburg.”
She said the carrier had kept its promise of creating massive employment for Nigerians and reduce the burden of air travel for Nigerians, and by extension, Africans, through the provision of affordable and peaceful connectivity across cities and continents.
“When we set out for the Air Peace trajectory in 2014, we envisaged an airline that would predominantly do two things: create massive employment for Nigerians and reduce the burden of air travel for Nigerians, and by extension, Africans, through the provision of affordable and peaceful connectivity across cities and continents.
“Now, we can confidently assert that Air Peace has kept to this vision of providing seamless connections and expanding existing network to accommodate the evolving air travel needs of the flying public,” she said.
As the China operations kick off, Olajide expressed appreciation to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), ministry of aviation, partners, and the Chinese government for making the launch feasible while “we promise to work harmoniously with all relevant aviation actors to ensure this new route is maximised.”
