Economics of narrow-body airplanes, Overland, Air Peace make impact at aviation summit

• Overland takes delivery of three E-175s, Air Peace orders five new jets

Brazilian-made aircraft maker, Embraer has continued to make an inroads into the country’s aviation industry with huge orders for E175 jets, more fuel-efficient, and narrow-body airplanes.

In the bid to also overcome economic headwinds, the country’s carriers have started shifting their focus away from the more expensive big airplanes for narrow-body aircraft.

Overland Airways, an airline reputed for its efficient model has seen it grow from strength to strength since it was established and Air Peace Airlines were the star-boy at the recently held Aviation Africa Summit in Abuja, Nigeria with orders for the aircraft type.

Air Peace at the summit made orders for ten of the aircraft type but five of the orders were considered firm orders.

Overland’s decision for Embraer airplanes would see a mixture of the aircraft type with the ATR fleet turboprop aircraft it has operated for more than 20 years and is reputed for developing many routes that many airlines wouldn’t fly before now.

Routes like Akure, Ilorin, Ibadan, and many other remote routes were made popular and developed by Capt. Edward Boyo led airline.

To show its seriousness towards remaining strong and for expansion perhaps to West Coast routes, Overland Airways received the first of three new E175 E-Jets.

The aircraft was delivered to the airline last week. The twenty-year-old West African carrier, an affiliate of the Landover Aviation Services Company, also holds options for three additional aircraft.

The carrier, which operates both scheduled and charter flights, plans to use the dual-class 88-seat E175s to increase capacity on domestic routes and expand services to regional cities.

According to Overland Airways Managing Director, Captain Edward Boyo, the new aircraft will supplement the airline’s current all-turboprop fleet and expand its reach and network.

“Overland has an ecosystem of aviation excellence crowned with its E175 fleet. With Embraer, we now have very flexible options to grow our fleet and capacity to meet all future demand.”

“The delivery of Overland’s first new E175 marks the beginning of an exciting chapter for the airline and Embraer. Nigeria represents one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world; Overland and Embraer are committed to the support of its continued success with a product line perfectly suited to build connectivity across West Africa”, said Stephan Hannemann, Head of Africa & Middle East Region, Commercial Aviation.

Concurrent with the arrival of its new E175s, Overland is aggressively ramping up its presence in Nigeria. It has built a new corporate office and hangar facilities in Lagos. The airline is an Approved Maintenance Organization under the certification of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

Air Peace’s strategic decision marks a significant step forward and is in alignment with the airline’s ongoing strategy of modernising its fleet.

This acquisition is in line with Air Peace’s determination to become the operator of the largest and youngest fleet of aircraft in Africa.

Chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema stated that it reinforces Air Peace’s commitment to enhancing its domestic and regional network connectivity and paves the way for further regional expansion. Deliveries of the 88-seat aircraft start in 2024. The value of the order is $288.3m.

His words, “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.”

Wole Shadare