For the first time in seven years, a Nigerian airline has reactivated the famous Lagos to London route, bringing succour to Nigerians. With Air Peace’s maiden trip to Gatwick Airport, it has joined a couple of indigenous carriers that operated in the busy route for commercial activities.
Before Air Peace, some local airlines had operated to London, recording varying degrees of success. Notably, the defunct Virgin Nigeria, with an Airbus A340-300 aircraft, started the lucrative route on June 28, 2005, but terminated operations four years after. On December 15, 2008, Arik Air also began international operations to London-Heathrow, using an Airbus A340-500 aircraft wet-leased from Hi Fly. Despite initial promise, Arik Air faced financial difficulties and discontinued its London services while under the receivership of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON.
In 2017, Med-View Airline became the last indigenous carrier to operate on the route.
It is against this background that stakeholders, who voiced their confidence in the capacity of Air Peace to sustain the route for years to come, identified crucial operational measures that the airline must put in place to record long-term success.
Long overdue
Speaking to Aviation correspondents, principal managing partner at Avaero Capital Partners, Sindy Foster, who expressed excitement over the development, said it was long overdue for a Nigerian airline to operate in the London route. She said: “The Bilateral Air Service Agreement, BASA, between UK and Nigeria has been lopsided for too long. This isn’t just beneficial to the aviation industry, the reduction in fares, by increased capacity and competition, is beneficial for passengers. A Nigerian airline flying this route will also be beneficial for the Nigerian economy.”
Very costly
Foster, however, warned that international routes are very costly and there is no room for financial errors, stressing that all costs and revenues need to be optimised. She added: “Service is a product differentiator, and a high level of service, both inflight service and across operational services, are highly regarded by passengers. Air Peace has entered into a very competitive market and it would need to operate to an international standard in every aspect of its operations, it requires an elevation of standards.”