Air Peace’s Nigeria–Brazil flights will be a game changer, says Onyema
Allen Onyema, Air Peace chairman, says the airline’s planned Nigeria–Brazil flights will be a game changer.
He added that it will open new opportunities for trade, tourism and cultural exchange between both countries.
Onyema stated this during a media briefing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after returning from Brazil.
At Brazil the carrier received endorsement from President Bola Tinubu and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to operate the bilateral air services agreement (BASA).
“Both countries endorsed Air Peace to implement this BASA because they believed we could do it,” Onyema said, noting that the route would provide direct seven-hour connectivity that replaces the two-day detours many travellers currently endure.
The Air Peace boss said the airline has ordered 21 Embraer aircraft, with five already delivered, and will on September 17 lay the foundation for a new maintenance hangar in Lagos.
The facility, expected to be completed within 15 months, will be supported technically by Embraer.
“No longer going abroad for maintenance checks. We will do it here, and other countries will come to Nigeria,” he said.
Onyema stressed that Brazil’s large African diaspora, particularly among Yoruba-speaking communities, makes the route strategically important.
He disclosed that Colombia has also invited the airline for talks on expanding connectivity across South America.
The airline chief pointed to the success of Air Peace’s London service, which he said has already secured over 30 per cent of the market within a year by forcing down fares.
“Before Air Peace came on board, business class was hitting N15–16 million for a six-hour flight. We came with N4 million. Everybody now is struggling to do N6 million,” Onyema said.
He added that Nigerians and Brazilians can expect similar competitive pricing once the Brazil route launches in the fourth quarter of this year.
Onyema credited Tinubu for supporting Air Peace’s expansion, saying the president views him as a Nigerian entrepreneur rather than through the lens of ethnicity.
“President Tinubu has shown me so much love, and that has boosted confidence in what we are doing,” he said.
Air Peace, which began operations in 2014, has grown into Nigeria’s largest carrier, with increasing presence on international routes in Europe, the Middle East and now South America.
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