Air Peace, West Africa’s largest airline, has taken a significant stride towards expanding and renewing its fleet. During the Aviation Africa Summit in Nigeria, the airline announced a firm order for five Embraer E175 aircraft, solidifying its commitment to modernizing its fleet.
This strategic decision aligns with Air Peace’s long-term strategy to become the operator of the largest and youngest fleet of aircraft in Africa. The order, valued at $288.3 million at list prices, represents a pivotal move that underlines Air Peace’s dedication to enhancing both its domestic and regional network connectivity.
The E175 aircraft, each with 88 seats, are scheduled for delivery in 2024. Air Peace’s existing fleet already includes Embraer’s newest and largest jet, the E195-E2. With the addition of these smaller E175s, Air Peace gains greater flexibility in matching capacity to demand.
Allen Onyema, the Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, emphasized the significance of this acquisition, stating, “This is another important step in helping to realize our ambition to connect the whole of Nigeria with the entire African continent, while also feeding passengers into long-haul flights from our Lagos hub. The acquisition enables us to continue delivering on our ‘no-city-left-behind’ initiative – connectivity is what our passengers, and Africa, demand. The deal also paves the way to establish local maintenance capabilities in Nigeria, with direct support from Embraer.”
Embraer, in partnership with Air Peace, is committed to supporting the establishment of local maintenance capabilities in Nigeria.
Stephan Hannemann, VP Sales & Marketing, Head of Africa & Middle East Region, Commercial Aviation at Embraer, praised Air Peace’s strategic approach, saying, “Air Peace’s strategic and innovative approach continues to make them a powerhouse of aviation success in West Africa. Already an E2 operator, it now makes sense to upgauge their ERJ145 fleet, offering passengers more seats and comfort with the E175. The commonality of the cockpits between the E1 and E2 fleet also simplifies aircrew costs and management.”
With this significant investment in the acquisition of Embraer aircraft, Air Peace expands its fleet to 18 brand new firm aircraft to date.
