By Sade Williams/Business a.m.
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Hosts travel partners
Air Peace, West Africa’s largest carrier by fleet size, is heading to the Indian subcontinent with flights commencing March 31, 2023. It met with its travel agents recently preparatory to the launch of the Mumbai operations.
The meeting, tagged Travel Agents Forum for Mumbai and Upcoming Routes, was attended by the airline’s top travel agents and partners and offered an opportunity for engagement on all the crucial initiatives regarding route network expansion.
Ifeoma Ekwerike, head, commercial and business development, who represented Oluwatoyin Olajide, chief operating officer, Air Peace, expressed appreciation to the travel agents for their support towards the growth of the brand.
Ekwerike further stressed that the airline is embarking on an aggressive but strategic route expansion to ease the travel burden of Nigerians and provide more seamless connectivity.
“We have a number of routes in the works. Mumbai is launching on March 31, 2023. Tel Aviv, Malabo, Congo Kinshasa, Lome and other regional destinations have been planned for commencement and announcements will be made once we finalise the arrangements,” she revealed.
According to the airline, passengers can connect Mumbai from Kano, Monrovia, Abuja, Accra, Port Harcourt and Douala through Lagos.
L-R: Roseline Entonu, business development team lead, Air Peace; Adekunle Aileru, marketing executive, Air Peace; Ifeoma Ekwerike, head, commercial and business development, Air Peace; Shantibhooshan Singh, president, Indian Community in Lagos; and Obinna Ezerioha, business development team lead, Air Peace at a recent travel agents forum in Lagos for the launch of Mumbai operations.
Martin Okunpolor, chief pilot, Air Peace, explained that the airline would be flying direct, nonstop to Mumbai. He added that Delhi operations would follow subsequently, after the Mumbai operations have gained some momentum.
He said the airline would be deploying its wide-body, luxury Boeing 777 aircraft for the route and plans to begin with two weekly flight frequencies, adding that the Indian airspace is not new to Air Peace as the airline operated special charter flights to the country during the COVID-19 period.
“Passengers will enjoy the flight experience and we have well-trained and richly experienced pilots that operate our international flights, and Mumbai will not be an exception,” Okunpolor asserted.
The forum was interactive as travel agents asked critical questions and gave suggestions on current route networks and prospective destinations.
