Air Peace has come under fresh criticism after Joe Studwell, a development economist at Africa Urban Lab and ODI Global and an investment trust director, recounted over delays experienced flying with the Nigerian carrier.
Studwell, who said he has travelled extensively across scores of countries, detailed his experience in a post in which he criticised Air Peace’s aircraft, delays, passenger communication and onboard services. He said he booked a four-flight itinerary with Air Peace covering London-Lagos-Abuja-Lagos-London and experienced delays on three of the four journeys.
“I’ve worked in scores of countries but I have never experienced an airline like Air Peace in Nigeria this past week,” Studwell wrote.
Multiple Delays
According to him, the London-Lagos flight was four hours late, with about two hours spent on the tarmac at Gatwick Airport before departure. He said the prolonged wait became particularly uncomfortable because of the condition of the aircraft’s air-conditioning system.
“The air-con systems are largely shot and over two hours on the Tarmac at Gatwick with a full plane, it got very hot and people got very upset,” he wrote.
Studwell also complained that the onboard entertainment system did not work during either of his international flights.
He attributed what he described as Air Peace’s operational difficulties partly to its use of older second-hand aircraft and specifically criticised the Boeing 777 aircraft deployed on the London route, saying they dated back to the mid-1990s.
On the domestic leg between Lagos and Abuja, Studwell said his flight was delayed by five hours, while a separate Air Peace flight was delayed even longer.
“Lagos to Abuja was then 5 hours late and there was a near riot at the airport as passengers for an even later Air Peace flight blockaded the boarding door to stop others boarding in protest at their plight,” he wrote.
Studwell said he subsequently received notification of a 4.5-hour delay for his Abuja-Lagos flight, raising concerns about whether he would make his London connection. He travelled to the airport and was moved onto an earlier flight, but that flight was itself delayed by about 3.5 hours.
By the time he arrived at the London check-in point in Lagos, the check-in desks had closed. He said he was nevertheless able to board after finding an Air Peace staff member who assisted him.Studwell calculated that the delays across three flights amounted to about 14 hours, in addition to the time and stress associated with the disruption.
Poor State of Aircrafts
His final flight, from Lagos to Gatwick, he said departed only about 30 minutes late but was, in his assessment, the most uncomfortable of the four journeys.
He said the Boeing 777-300 used for the flight still had its original-looking cabin seats, which he described as featuring “hideous faux 70s seat coverings.”
“On the 777-300 that carried us, Air Peace had not even bothered to change the seats since buying the likely three decade-old plane,” he wrote.
Studwell also accused the airline of having poor communication with passengers during disruptions stating “Air Peace specialises in Zero Communication. You never know what the state of play is,” he said whilst adding that Nigerian frequent travellers he spoke to told him they generally avoided the airline.
Studwell also questioned why international travel platforms continue to sell Air Peace tickets to overseas travellers without providing prominent information about the carrier’s reported punctuality record.
He argued that Air Peace benefits from its presence on international booking platforms such as Expedia and Trip.com, while some Nigerian domestic airlines have limited access to international distribution systems such as Amadeus.
“Shame on the likes of Expedia and Trip.com for selling tickets for Air Piss without any warnings about what you are getting into, or reviews,” he wrote.
