Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS)-based Air Peace has signed an agreement with Latvia’s SmartLynx Airlines to wet lease two Airbus A320s. According to a statement released by SmartLynx Airlines on November 24, West Africa’s largest airline Air Peace will wet lease the two aircraft until May 11, 2022.
The agreement sees the return of SmartLynx to Nigeria, a region it has been successfully operating in since 2007. In its statement, SmartLynx says the move demonstrates the Latvian airline’s commitment to expanding its client portfolio into new markets.
SmartLynx is a wet lease specialist
SmartLynx says that it is incredibly proud of its ongoing business strategy and long-term partnerships with industry leaders for more than 30 years. It says that these relationships with other airlines offer proof of its relationship commitment and that it is a dependable partner. When speaking about the new agreement with Air Peace and the overall situation in the aviation industry in its statement SmartLynx Airlines VP of Sales and Development, Edvinas Demenius, said:
“While the pandemic has sadly taken its toll on many businesses, our strategy has been focused on the expansion of our valued client portfolio. The introduction of the Nigerian airline, Air Peace, the biggest airline in Western Africa, comes as an integral part of that focus on client growth and the company’s expansion into dynamic new markets.”
Regarding business life during COVID, Demenius added:
“The aviation industry is slowly recovering in the wake of a global pandemic, and SmartLynx are dedicated to supporting that growth in travel demand in any way we can. Another important commitment for us, and one which is backed up by our signing of the EASA Covid Charter, is to maintain and continuously improve safer flying methods. There have been challenging times in the past 20 months, but with the acquisition of new clients like Air Peace, there are clear signs of a brighter future for SmartLynx and the entire aviation industry.”
For Air Peace, it is a short-term solution
On behalf of Air Peace Chief Operating Officer Oluwatoyin Olajide said:
“We are happy to have entered into the 6-month damp-lease agreement with SmartLynx, and we believe this will open up more layers of business relationship with them. We are damp-leasing two A320s to meet the growing travel demand in the Nigerian and larger West African markets while we expect to take delivery of more Embraer 195-E2 airplanes. Air Peace is committed to reducing the air travel burden of Nigerians, and this deal with SmartLynx is a testament to this commitment. The two A320s will be deployed to boost both domestic and regional connectivity for our esteemed customers, as the Yuletide draws near.”
About Air Peace and SmartLynx Airlines
Air Peace was founded in 2013 by Nigerian lawyer and businessman Allen Onyema to help provide economic opportunities for the West African nation. Air Peace currently serves 19 domestic destinations in Africa’s most populous country, six regional routes, and two international destinations. According to aviation data and statistics website ch-aviation, the Air Peace fleet contains the following aircraft:
- 8 x Boeing 737-300s
- 5 x Boeing 737-500s
- 1 x Boeing 777-200ER
- 2 x Boeing 777-300s
- 1 x Fairchild Dornier Do328-300
- 5 x Embraer EMB-145LRs
- 3 x Embraer EMB-145MPs
- 4 x Embraer ERJ 190-400s
Air Peace has orders with Boeing for ten 737-800s and Brazillian planemaker Embraer for nine more ERJ 190-400s.
Based at Riga International Airport (RIX), SmartLynx Airlines is a wet lease specialist operating flights on behalf of other airlines. According to ch-aviation, SmartLynx Airlines current fleet is made up of the following planes:
- 10 x Airbus A320-200s
- 6 x Airbus A321-200s
What do you think about Air Peace wet leasing A320s from SmartLynx Airlines? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments.
from Simple Flying https://ift.tt/3rclA8C
via IFTTT
Comments
Post a Comment