West Africa’s largest airline, Air Peace, has agreed a deal with aircraft maker Embraer Aerospace Corporation to acquire an additional 10 new aircraft worth $300 million.
According to Arise TV, this was disclosed by the Chief Executive Officer, Allen Onyema, at the Aviation Africa Summit and Exhibition, held in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on Thursday.
According to him, the decision was made in accordance with the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo,’s instruction to advance the aviation industry while luring investment through the maintenance strategy.
He said, “In line with fleet modernization policy, we just signed a further acquisition, a further order of 10 E175, with a stern order of five and five acquisition rights.
“The minister called me two weeks ago and said moving forward, any Nigerian airline that wants to bring in brand-new planes must also think of maintenance capabilities for those planes in-house and within Nigeria.
“He made it compulsory that if you are going into the acquisition of more than 20 planes, you must show evidence that the original equipment manufacturer is going to support the setting up of a maintenance centre here and for third parties here, MOR. With the signature signed today, we have ordered 35 Embraer brand-new fleets.
“We have signed 30 before, of which five have been delivered already, the E2s. Part of the agreement we signed today is that Embraer is going to help set up the maintenance centre in Nigeria, and it will be set up with immediate effects. So, this decision will help our national reserves and help conserve the forex of airlines in Africa when it comes to fruition.”
In confirming the maintenance agreement, Embraer management stated that the purchase is valued at $300 million and that delivery will begin in 2024.
Embraer said, “Ever since we started this relationship in 2017, it has been smooth and great, and today it’s a momentous day. This transaction costs $300 million, with the airline moving forward.
“The first two aircraft will be delivered next year. The airline needs to grow. As the business moves forward, we need to work together, and the maintenance will create jobs and drive investment. And we will move forward with Air Peace to drive this growth”.
