Air Peace To Increase Embraer Fleet With Five E175s

Nigerian Carrier Air Peace has further deepened its ties with Embraer by placing a firm order of five aircraft. The airline already has more than 10 Embraer planes in its fleet, and the latest order is part of its fleet modernization program.

Five Embraer E175s ordered

Embraer has announced that Nigeria-based airline Air Peace has placed a firm order for five E175 aircraft. The carrier already operates several Embraer airplanes, including its newest and largest jet, the E195-E2.

Embraer believes that the latest order of the smaller E175s will complement the airline’s existing fleet, “allowing Air Peace to dynamically match capacity to demand, protecting yields and route viability.” The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, commented,

“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.”

The E175s will offer enhanced capacity for Air Peace as they are bigger than the carrier’s ERJ145 aircraft. Investing in more Embraer planes also allows the carrier to utilize the commonality of the cockpits between the E1 and E2 fleet and simplify aircrew costs and management.

The fleet

Air Peace operates a diverse fleet of aircraft from all major airplane manufacturers, including two wet-leased Airbus A320s, per ch-aviation. It has a fleet of 34 aircraft comprising two Airbus A320s, 15 Boeing 737s, three 777s, one Do328-300, eight EMB-145s, and five E195-E2s.

However, less than half of its fleet is currently active as several of its planes are stranded in other countries due to maintenance issues, affecting its overall growth strategy. Still, its fleet is expected to grow in the near future as it awaits several more E195-E2s and 10 Boeing 737 MAXs.

Network expansion

Despite challenges with its fleet, Air Peace continues to expand its network. Earlier this year, the airline launched non-stop flights to Lomé, Togo, and is hopeful for more such routes to enhance air connectivity in West Africa.

In April, Air Peace also became the first Nigerian carrier to operate direct flights from Nigeria to Israel. The inaugural flight originated from Lagos and headed to Tel Aviv after a stopover in Abuja.

On August 5th, the carrier also became the first from its country to fly non-stop to Antigua and Barbuda using its Boeing 777 aircraft. While it was the first of two special flights arranged between Air Peace and the Antigua and Barbuda government for the Antigua Carnival, the airline is said to be in discussion for regular scheduled commercial services in this sector in the future.

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