Air Peace not threatened by coming new national carrier- Iwarah, communications manager
Nigeria’s leading carrier, Air Peace is reputed with a lot of first in the Nigerian aviation industry.
The airline made history with the setting up of a subsidiary, Air Peace Hopper to organise its short-haul operations in line with its no-city-left-behind project.
The carrier is the first Nigerian airline to take delivery of Boeing 777 aircraft.
In three years, Air Peace has increased its fleet to a size of 24 aircraft.
In this interview with Franklin Ihejirika at the recently concluded Accra Weizo where it emerged the West African airline of year in Ghana , Air Peace corporate communications manager, Mr. Chris Iwarah speaks on the expansion drive of the airline on the West Coast, their international operations, acquisition of fourth B777, plans to interline with other airlines and what it means to win west African airline of the year among other issues.
Excerpts
“We take our international operations as a big deal”
“National carrier: The Regulator should not be part of the business, the government should give everybody a level playing ground”
What does emerging the best airline in West Africa mean to Air Peace?
Emerging the best airline in West Africa means a lot to Air Peace and when we say a lot, sincerely it means a lot because this is the first time we are having such recognition outside the shores of Nigeria. Within Nigeria we have our base, we have received a lot of awards. Just this year alone, we have received over five awards from reputable organisations and this one coming outside Nigeria is a whole lot for us and is coming less than 18 months of taken our big steps out of Africa. We launched our Accra route in February 2017 and this is June 2018 and we have been recognised that we are doing something great on the West Coast of Africa and this we cannot appreciate enough.
Are you looking at the possibility of interlining with other airlines in the region?
Definitely, as you have heard, interlining is a complex arrangement that must be looked at critically. Air Peace is based on sincerity and our focus is to have a enough support to impact the society in great ways. One of the ways we do that is through job creation, another way we do that is through impacting the economies of the countries we are operating into. So definitely we are thinking in that direction, but is not what will be done in a hurry, already we are interlining on international level with a lot of groups I cannot mention here for confidentiality purpose for now. But we are thinking in that light, because we cannot be every where. Our vision is to create seamless connections and seamless connections cannot be done by Air Peace alone.
When we think we cannot be strong enough or cannot fit in into our immediate operations, we are ready to partner with others. interlining with others to ensure our guests get the best of air service, that is our goal, but we will do it with people who are also sincere and are ready to respect their honour and are ready to show integrity because we are raised on the foundation of integrity. We will not just go into interlining for the sake of it, we want to do it in a way that works, that will impact air travel, that will democratise air travel, that is our goal, so we have nothing against that.
How can you rate your operations so far on the West Coast and where are you going next?
Our operations on the West Coast have been so marvellous, we launched the operations in February 2017 in Accra, we promised to ensure that from this platform we reach out to other nations on the West Coast. Now barely a year after that in February 2018, we launched three other routes on the West Coast, talking about Freetown, Banjul and Dakar. We are doing marvellously well on these routes, the testimonies from our guests is that the intervention we made have solved their problems and now we have a lot of persons who can travel on this route seamlessly and that is just the beginning. In a few weeks we are going to start Monrovia, we are going to do Monrovia Accra, Monrovia-Abuja, Monrovia Lagos, is going to be a whole lot, we are also thinking about other nations like Gabon, Lome Abidjan. So is going to be a total job on the West Coast. We want to ensure that challenges on the west coast are addressed perfectly, so it has been marvellous, the support we are getting on this route is really huge, you see people sincerely supporting it because they know that what we are doing, we are doing sincerely because we are not ready to just come in and take from people and go away, no, we are ploughing back, we are also really fixing economies. We are fixing economies on the west coast, now we have people who want to travel whether business or leisure, we are meeting their needs and we are just beginning and we hope to deepen it, we hope to push it further. I want to assure the air travelling public that the best is yet to come, they should just keep trusting us and keep doing what they have been doing in our support and at the end of the day, we will all go back smiling.
You said your aircraft has increased to 24, so how many is on ground now ?
It is not that we are planning to increase the aircraft to 24, we already have 24 aircraft. Our total fleet size is 24 aircraft, we are even planning of increasing that. Like I said, when we started our international operations, we immediately acquired that two Boeing 777, now we have acquired one more to make it a third, we are concluding arrangement on the fourth one because we take our international operations as a big deal, we are not willing to jump in and jump out, we are going to give the best. We are challenging theories, perceptions, perceptions that nothing good can come from Nigeria, that nothing good can come from Africa. These are perceptions we are challenging and we are saying no, given a solid plan, given the right condition we are going out there to do well. As I said yesterday that is not also for you to sit down and say African Airlines are not doing well, Nigerian airlines are not doing well, we are saying no, that is not the truth, though we had a little challenge, a very negligible challenge when you think of challenge airlines in Nigeria face. So we are not going to fail, we have a solid arrangement we are working on and we know will work.
You have concluded arrangements for the 3rd B 777 and also adding a fourth one when the one you have on ground is not flying, why?
This is the first time we are using a Boeing 777 plane and is not automatic, is not enough to bring in the planes and you begin to fly. If it were to be the B 737 aircraft we have used before, if it comes in into the system, the Regulator comes in and conduct their minor checks and is inducted and we begin to fly with them. But this is the first time we are using a B777, in fact is a record in the Nigerian aviation industry. Is not just going to go in, there are processes, processes we are complying with in conjunction with the Regulator. This week, we did our partial evacuation with the Embrear 145 and there is also the requirement of doing demonstration flights which we are already arranging, we just held meeting with the Regulator this week, so we are arranging with them. Is a whole lot of process, training is being looked at. Our pilots are going for training, so is a big arrangement, is not what will just happen overnight. We are loosing money having the aircraft sitting there, we want to ensure that what is done will be properly done. We are not ready to cut corners, we are complying with all the requirements and once we start, is going to be good, is better we go in and do it well than to jump in and jump out. Again is a safety matter, we must ensure that every thing that needs to be done to make sure that the aircraft meets all the regulatory requirements, we are going to do, we are loosing money but we are not thinking so much in terms of money. We value the lives of our guests and crew beyound any monetary considerations and that is what we are saying. Shortly we will be starting all that both with our B777 and Embraer 145 operations which we are using for our no city is left behind operation. So we are working seriously and that is why it appears to be delayed, nothing more than that. We are trying to comply with regulatory requirements by ensuring that all the plans we have are well done. Once we finish that, other planes we are going acquire will not pass through this stringent regulatory requirement because once we induct, that shows that we can operate this planes we have acquired, that is what we are doing nothing more than that.
The Embraer, two have come in and others are undergoing checks outside the shores of Nigeria we are working in conjunction with the Regulators to ensure that everything is in place, shortly a lot more of these planes will come in, in a matter of months a lot more of the planes will come in as they are going through all sorts of checks to ensure they are air worthy.
You have heard the discussions here on why airlines fail in Africa, how prepared are you to ensure that you do not fail also where all these other airlines failed?
All the issue raised, the challenges are not new, some of the issues people raised, some are pushed beyound what they really are, some are raised with a whole lot of fear because of people who are pushing them. The situation you have in Europe and in America is quite different from what we have here. What works in Europe and America may not be what will work here. We have our own peculiarities that people must understand, like when they talked about delays, in just one week, we had our aircraft going to Port Harcourt that could not land in Port-Harcourt because of persistent poor visibility, we had to divert twice to Owerri to land and once you divert like that, you have to wait as weather is not what you can predict. But I tell you that 95 percent of delays and cancellations are due to challenges like this and other challenges of sunset airports, so we have looked at this things, they are not new, others have faced them and have overcome such challenges. I know that with a good plan as we have in Air Peace that we can overcome them. In fact the challenges we have here are far more that what we have in Europe and other parts of the world, that is the truth, but despite the odds, we are doing our real best, we are putting our best foot forward, we are ready for it, we are dependent on our workforce, on our sincerity, on our vision to ensure that everything that will give us success will be put in place and is well done. We did it with Nigeria, before Air Peace came in, it was a tale of sorrow, but once we came in we brought in transformation, we changed everything, our intervention changed a whole lot of things. Others are now trying to play catch up, that is the truth. If we could do it in Nigeria and also doing it in the region and on the West Coast particularly, there is no doubt that we can do it international, so there is no fear at all. All we are asking is that you people should keep trusting us, keep supporting us, it is better to go with the ones you know than those you don’t know, than people you don’t know because what we have done is a vote for the development of Nigeria, a vote for the development of Africa and that is the message we are putting out there, so people should trust us. People complain of maintenance, but I can tell you that what we spend on maintenance here is far bigger than what the so called big airlines of the world spend on their maintenance. So I don’t know why people will like to fly some airlines on the international scene and don’t want to fly the ones they know, may be it is because we are Nigerians or Africans. We must change our perception even as we think that the operators should also change their business module to move their operations forward.
Multiple taxation
We are not so much stressing on that because we are coming from a history as this did not start today. Luckily the federal government is also listening, if these changes have been there, they are not going to go overnight, we all appreciate that. The federal government is also looking at that, we are not going to preempt the federal government, the federal government also needs all the support to ensure that the issue of multiple taxation is properly addressed and we want to give them time to look at it and address it properly. Even at that, the so called high fares we are talking about, if it is to be properly priced, no route in Nigeria for instance should be less than, N50, 000. But our fares still start from N21,000 as at date despite the multiple taxation, so when you make analyses of the fares you have, you find out that the airlines are operating under a very tough situation. Globally before you talk of an airline breaking even, you will even talk of five years, is even much more when you talk of Nigeria, when you talk of Africa. So people must be patient with the government to look at the problems that challenge the existence, the sustainability of airlines in Nigeria and Africa. Ghana has done that before by removing a whole lot for their domestic airlines, so I don’t see why Nigeria cannot do that. Nigeria supposed to be a hub, but with the current situation is not so because of these challenges.
Is Air Peace not threatened by the coming of the new national carrier promoted by the federal government
We are not threatened at all by the coming of the new national carrier. Other airlines existed before we came in, so is not a matter of people being threatened, we can never be threatened because we have a solid business plan, we have a solid customer base that keep trusting us, we have a reputation that is unrivalled. But all we are saying is that if every body is going to be regulated, the Regulator should not be part of the business, the Regulator should play unbiased role. Once that assurance is given, no problem, we are ready to compete with any airline. As Nigerians, we are also in a position to offer advise to government and we are saying, this is not the era where government float national carriers, you stay away from that. Look at the one we say is doing well in Africa, they are also trying to privatise, so if they are trying to privatise, why do you still want to go into it. You can give your support in so many other ways. Government can support some of these flag carriers, you heard at the discussion yesterday the amount governments in all these nation’s commit in support of their airlines, so we can have that support too and do well rather government floating a national carrier, but if government thinks that is the way to go, then there is no problem, they should give everybody a level playing ground and there is no problem. We are not threatened in any way because we believe that the more the merrier. You heard when a group came up with minimum number of aircraft in your fleet before you can operate, but we kicked against that despite the fact that the decision will favour us more, but we said is not good to do that, despite the fact we have gone beyound that threshold. We were the greatest voice against that suggestion, normally it will favour us, so we cannot be threatened by the existence of any other airline weather private or government supported, we believe the more the merrier, we are ready for heavy competition.
Med-View Airline to relaunch Yola, Maiduguri flights Dec. 18, increases Lagos-Abuja flights
NCAA warns pilots, airlines against thunder storms
Oil bunkering: Court sentences 8 Bennioise to 4 years imprisonment each
$1.3bn tax assessment: witness’ absence stalls trial in MTN suit against AGF