Foreign Airlines Allegedly Plan to Force Air Peace Out of Business for Bringing Down Ticket Prices

• The chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said that foreign airlines are planning to take the company out of business
• This came after the airline recently commenced the Lagos-London flight, bringing down the cost of tickets
• He, however, said that the foreign airlines are fighting back as they have decided to go into a price war

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Allen Onyema, the chairman of Air Peace, a Nigerian domestic carrier, has alleged that foreign airlines that run the Nigeria-UK route are planning to force the airline out of business by driving down ticket prices.

According to Onyema, who was a guest on Channels Television's Politics Today programme, foreign airlines have an unspoken alliance to utilise reduced pricing to drive Air Peace off the Nigeria-London route.

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He said:

“If they take out Air Peace prematurely, this country will pay dearly for it, ten times over, billions will be lost, there will be another heavy strain on the naira,”

Air Peace: Foreign airlines fighting back

The Air Peace boss said foreign airlines operating the route are fighting back.

He said the airline had been deliberately frustrated in all ways, as he cited ground handling and space allocation difficulties at Gatwick Airport in the last couple of days.

He said:

“It’s a very devilish conspiracy. All of a sudden, foreign airlines are underpricing, below the cost, it’s not up to one month, an airline was advertising $100, another one $305, $350. Fill up the entire aircraft and carry people on the wings; it’s not even enough to buy your fuel. So, why are they doing that? Their governments support them because Nigeria has been a cash cow for everybody.

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“Their governments support them to do this and take Air Peace out. The idea is to take Air Peace out and the moment they succeed in taking Air Peace out, Nigerians will pay 20 times over again.”

The airline boss invited other Nigerian airlines to join the Nigeria-UK route to break the monopoly hitherto enjoyed by foreign carriers operating into the four major gateway airports of Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt.

He said:

“I invite other Nigerian airlines to join the fray. Let them come, and let all of us do international operations. Yes, international aeropolitics is very dirty, but somebody must pay the price.”

Onyema appreciated President Bola Tinubu and Minister Keyamo for being "solidly behind" Air Peace even as the airline navigates the political side of operating to London.

Air Peace reduces ticket prices

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the unequal Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the United Kingdom was reciprocated on March 30, 2024, when Air Peace launched direct flights from Lagos to London's Gatwick Airport.

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Many industry watchers have praised the development, saying that it will inspire other local airlines to start operating foreign flights on profitable routes.

Air Peace set the price of a return economy class ticket at N1.2 million upon its resumption, forcing other airlines like British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Qatar Airways to lower their rates to remain competitive.

Prior to Air Peace's flight commencement, the price of an international flight ticket on the Lagos-London route had reached as high as N3.5 million.

Air Peace increases seating capacity

Legit.ng also reported that Air Peace recently revealed plans to expand its capacity on the Lagos-London route, citing a significant rise in demand.

The announcement was made public through the airline's social media pages on Wednesday, April 3, 2024.

As a result of this expansion, passengers seeking flights to London through Air Peace now have a broader selection of seating options to consider.

Source: Legit.ng