Aligbe: How Nigerian carriers, Air Peace, can be profitable on Brazil route-

The Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Konsult, Mr. Chris Aligbe, has weighed in on two key factors that could make the Lagos-Brazil route profitable for any airline that wants to venture into it following the signing of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between both nations last week.

He listed the factors as huge investment in the route by Air Peace and any other Nigerian carrier that may want to operate the route, and liberal visa policies by the two nations.

Nigeria’s flag carrier airline, Air Peace, had decided to take the plunge to begin three times weekly direct air services to Sao Paulo in October 2025 after conducting a test flight to the Latin American nation.

Aligbe, while speaking with Aviation Metric, likened the Sao Paulo route to when the liquidated Nigeria Airways invested in the Dubai route before any other airline from Africa and other parts of the world saw it as a gold mine.

He stated that the success of Air Peace on the route depends on how much investment it can muster to remain profitable on a route that was last serviced by the distressed Brazilian national carrier, Varig, 31 years ago.

His words, “It is whether they can develop the route. Route development is very expensive. When Nigeria Airways entered the Dubai route, there were no flights. It was Nigeria Airways that opened the Dubai route. We didn’t know Emirates, or any other airline. It was after we opened it that Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, all of them started coming in. We opened the route. At that time, visas to Europe and other places had become so difficult.”

“Apart from visa for the United States, which became difficult, the market in the Emirates was cheaper and offered a lot of goods that people can buy and sell. It became an instant market. The two places where the market was thriving were Dubai and Istanbul. We took Dubai and developed Dubai, and it was almost instant, and within two months, that place became something else. What was high was cargo because people were buying and selling. Route development is very expensive. If you can stay on it, fine.”

“When we entered Dubai, the visa policy was easy until Nigerians spoiled it with robbery, and that was what caused the difficulty with the visa. For Brazil, the visa policy is critical. Brazil is a destination in terms of tourist attractions and manufacturing. Brazil has a very strong flag carrier. It was formerly called TAM, but it is now LATAM. It became LAMTAM in 2020 when LAM Chile, the national carrier of Chile, acquired a significant equity stake in TAM. It was not a national carrier; it was a Brazilian flag carrier formed by a group of people, and it was doing well. Today, LATAM has moved from SkyTeam to Oneworld. They have 140 aircraft and have 93 destinations in Latin America, in the US and in Europe”.

He, however, expressed concern about Air Peace for starting some important routes in the past, only to abandon them mid-way.

The routes allegedly abandoned and no longer served at the moment are Johannesburg, South Africa; Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE); Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Mumbai, India; and Guangzhou, China, among others.

His words, “It is now left to be seen if Air Peace can develop that route. Route development is very expensive. You can see what is happening. Let’s see how it goes and see how he can develop that route. It is very expensive. If it can go to India with only 50 passengers, it brings to the fore the marketing strategy. He can develop it, but it depends on the capacity to develop it, carry the cost of route development. It equally depends on the Nigerian visa policy. Brazil has a strong airline, LATAM.”

“By 2023/24, I think the record of annual revenue of LATAM was over $10 billion, and the profit was $109 million. It is a profitable airline. I don’t know whether Ethiopian Airlines is not more profitable. Ethiopian Airlines appears to be more profitable. Ethiopian Airlines may not have made $10 billion in revenue, but profit margin is higher with Ethiopian Airlines”.

Wole Shadare