Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema Explain the price hike, blame it on naira and aviation fuel price

Allen Onyema the founder and CEO of Air Peace has expressed his concerns about the price hike of almost all the airlines in Nigeria, he blames this on the naira to dollar rates and aviation fuel price, his statement on Alice Managize read;

I am as usual, very thrilled to welcome our very esteemed passengers to all aircraft operated by Air Peace Limited. Please be assured that my team members and I have never and will never take for granted your love and preference for Air Peace, at all times. We truly can not communicate enough the length we go every day, to ensure your safety, comfort and health on all Air Peace flights, especially in these unusual times. Yes, the aviation industry faces unusual times again!

Just when we thought that we were gradually overcoming the colossal and possibly the worst ever downturn the global aviation and tourism industry had ever faced, as a result of the unfortunate COVID-19 Pandemic, the war between Russia and Ukraine ensued. Again, the aviation industry has become a major victim of this avoidable war.

With jet fuel prices going through the roof amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the pandemic-battered aviation sector is confronted with two unhealthy and certainly unhelpful headwinds – higher cost of operations and lower demand for flights from travellers planning vacations or other destination travels.
Airline companies, which are still struggling to come out of the COVID-19 nightmare, have no option but to increase airfares to offset their operating costs due to skyrocketing Aviation Fuel prices. This move by airlines, globally, as expected, is having a ripple effect on the travel and tourism sector, which is yet reeling from the pandemic woes, as people who have vacation or other travel plans in the coming months might postpone or cancel their programmes considering high airfares.

The good news, however, is that Airline Operators of Nigeria are pushing hard for the requisite approvals from the Federal Government of Nigeria to begin direct importation of Jet A1 Fuel. As a consortium, we have tidied up the modalities to go about this and have since submitted to the concerned authorities our modus. I dare say that the feedback we are getting so far from the Federal Government of Nigeria, on this score, has been largely very positive.

I must clarify that we are going to this length for the best interest of our esteemed passengers. It does not, in any way, delight us when our dear passengers are made to pay more than the absolutely necessary amount of money for our services. Like I have reiterated here severally, Air Peace was not set up primarily to ‘rake in money! I believe that most Nigerians know me well enough to attest to the fact that I will never ever be involved in any venture that would rip people off.

No doubt, the scarcity of aviation fuel that all airline operators in Nigeria are currently contending with, has significantly impacted our flight schedules and has led to either delays or cancellation of flights. This is very regrettable and Air Peace most sincerely apologises for the inconveniences these delays and cancellation of flights may have caused our esteemed passengers. At Air Peace, we are working, to the best of our competencies, powers and abilities, to offer our esteemed passengers first-class services and attention; and at pocket-friendly costs, even in spite of huge odds that are most times beyond our control.

In spite of the tough times the aviation sector is facing, Air Peace has returned to its United Arab Emirate (UAE) Route – this time with direct flights to Dubai from Lagos for all passengers from all our domestic routes (Not through Sharjah, like was the case). Please note that the domestic component of the Dubai route flight attracts no extra costs, once you have your confirmed Dubai ticket.
Air Peace has also launched flight operations from Nigeria directly to Niamey, the beautiful capital of the Niger Republic. I wish to reaffirm that pursuant to our route expansion goal and in our bid to help achieve economic integration in Africa, Air Peace is poised to connect all the major cities in the West and Central African sub-region.

I also wish to use this opportunity to commend the Federal Government of Nigeria, especially, President Muhammadu Buhari, for the bold and decisive move to evacuate Nigerians from war-torn Ukraine. At the instance of the Federal Government, Air Peace deployed its aircraft to evacuate several Nigerians who were stranded in a number of European countries, as a result of the war. We applaud the Federal Government of Nigeria for this initiative.
The latest edition of our inflight magazine, Alice, as usual, focuses on the culture and traditions of several of our destinations. I trust that as usual, you will find the reports in the magazine thoroughly informative and entertaining.