Allen Onyema, chairman of Air Peace, has called on the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer to establish maintenance, overhaul and repair (MRO) facility in Nigeria.
Onyema’s request was a response to the delivery of the first, Embraer E195-E2 out of the 13 firm orders, which arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja from Recife airport, Brazil.
Air Peace is the first African carrier to take delivery of this brand new aircraft type with 30 orders, which include 13 firm orders and 17 purchase right orders, making the airline the second to Lufthansa globally, which ordered 35.
Speaking about the aircraft type, Arjan Meija, president/chief executive, Commercial Business Aviation, Embraer, said “The E195-E2 tagged ‘Profit Hunter’ aircraft will help Air Peace achieve its ambition of connecting not just all of Nigeria, but the whole of the African continent while feeding long-haul flights from their Lagos hub.
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“Air Peace is also the first airline to configure a premium cabin with our staggered seat option. Each of the 12 Business Class seats is slightly offset from the other to give more space and privacy. There are three rows of seats arranged two-by-two at a 51-inch pitch at the 124 seater aircraft. Passengers by the windows have unobstructed access to the aisle; they don’t need to awkwardly step over their seatmates or ask them to move,” he explained.
Meija also said there were large overhead bins on both sides of the aircraft, which are different from other configurations that have a narrow bin along one side of the premium cabin that transitions to a larger bin at the start of the economy cabin.
“The new 124-seat E2s complement the airline’s eight 50-seat E145s flying with Air Peace Hopper. The Embraer fleet will create greater regional and domestic connectivity from the carrier’s Lagos hub. Apart from the 13 195-E2s on firm order, Air Peace has purchase rights for 17 more of the aircraft according to Embraer,” he said.
Receiving the aircraft in Nigeria, which landed at 2 pm at the Abuja, airport, Allen Onyema thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for making the delivery of the ordered plane possible.
Onyema said the airline would not pay VAT and Customs duties on the new planes, describing this as big financial relief.
He also thank Hadi Sirika, the minister of Aviation, for his support and encouragement to Nigerian airlines, noting that it was in response to his challenge of the airlines to acquire new planes that spurred Air Peace to order the new aircraft.
Hadi Sirika, minister of Aviation, described the aircraft delivery by Air Peace as a step in the right direction. He said the bold step by the airlines aligned with Federal Government’s road map for the aviation sector.
Ricardo Guerra de Araujo, the Brazilian ambassador to Nigeria, said the feat by Air Peace was remarkable for Nigeria and Africa.
The ambassador also expressed optimism that Air Peace would consider direct flight between Nigeria and Brazil soon.
Speaking on behalf of other governors, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, urged Air Peace to rethink how to create regional hubs for air transport in Nigeria. He described air transportation as the catalyst that would push for economic integration of the states in Nigeria and West Africa sub-region and called on other operators in the industry to consider ways of achieving affordable fares for air travellers.
