Nigerian carrier, Air Peace has announced that it has secured slots into London Gatwick. The announcement has been greeted with excitement especially in Nigeria where flights into London has skyrocketed following devaluation of the naira and huge debts owed foreign airlines.
With the entrance of Air Peace into the London route and the announcement of attractive promos especially for students, industry watchers are predicting a downward trend in ticket prices for flights between Nigeria and the UK.
But as we count down to the inaugural flight, thisislagos.ng brings you up to speed with the Air Peace to London deal.
- When does the deal take off? The first flight will depart Lagos Nigeria on Saturday March 30 2024 at 12.10 am. It will be a direct flight with no stop-overs and there will be daily flights going forward.
- What kind of aircraft will Air Peace be using? According to Oluwatoyin Olajide, the Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace, the airline will service the route with Boeing 777 aircraft and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircrafts which he describes as “one of the most modern and efficient aircraft in the skies. We will be launching with special promo fares and attractive plans for agents.”
- Is there a partnership behind this deal? Yes, Air Peace has partnered with a Norwegian airline called Norse Atlantic Airways AS. Air Peace signed an ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) charter with Norse Atlantic Airways AS which will enable both partners facilitate air travel between London and Lagos. According to TravelWeekly, “The service, using slots at the airport allocated to Nigerian carrier Air Peace to facilitate the new route, will initially operate for two months from April. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner service will run four times a week with the potential to extend into a longer-term agreement.”
- What kind of deal is this? The deal between Air Peace and Norse Atlantic Airways is according to AeroTime, “a wet-lease deal that will last for two months initially, but with the possibility of an extension” and will see Norse supply airline and crew to service the route. “Without available aircraft of its own to start services on the route, the carrier will be using leased Boeing 787-9s supplied by Norse Atlantic Airways (Norse)… The start of London services also marks the entry of Air Peace into the highly competitive and lucrative market between Nigeria and Europe market. British Airways currently flies daily to Abuja (ABV) using Boeing 777s, and Lagos (LOS) using 787-10s, both from London Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic also flies a daily flight to Lagos using Airbus A350-1000s. With the commencement of its new service, Air Peace will become the only Nigerian carrier serving the London market.”
- Who is Norse Atlantic Airways? Norse Atlantic Airways AS was founded in 2021 by a Norwegian calledBjørn Tore Larsen, with two others holding minority stakes. Norse Atlantic Airwaysis a low-cost, long-haul airline with headquarters in Arendal, Norway and operates a fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft between Europe, North America, and Asia. Its inaugural flight was on 14 June 2022 and flew from Oslo Airport to JFK in New York.
- What Norse Airways and Air Peace are saying about the deal: Norse Atlantic founder and chief executive Bjorn Tore Larsen said: “We are thrilled to be working with Air Peace to launch this ACMI charter service between London Gatwick and Lagos. The Nigerian carrier’s chair and chief executive Allen Onyema added: “Air Peace is delighted to have signed this partnership deal with Norse Atlantic Airways for the commencement of our London service.”
- Where will Air Peace flights terminate? The Air Peace flights from Nigeria will terminate at Southern Terminal, Gatwick airport. Gatwick is located 29.5 miles (47.5 km) south of Central London and was noted in 2022 as the second-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Heathrow Airport, and the 8th-busiest in Europe by total passenger traffic.
- Why does this deal matter? First, it will open up the lucrative Nigeria- UK route to a Nigerian operator. Second, it will help drive fares down by providing an alternative and thirdly, it will ease connecting city waits because aside from BA and Virgin, other airlines flying between Lagos and London go through a third connecting city. Only 53.2% of the 362,000 passengers that traveled the route in 2023, flew directly without stop-overs.