Why Air Peace Keeps Winning Despite Negative Campaigns

By Dan Onwukwe

Always setting its mind on higher things, last Friday, May 8, Air Peace, Nigeria’s leading indigenous and largest carrier in West Africa, had a cherished passenger aboard its flagship international service – Boeing 777-200ER – from Lagos to London Gatwick. Make no mistake, the high-profile passenger was former President and elder statesman Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He was warmly received at the airline’s Premium Lounge at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos by the airline’s CEO, Chairman, Chief Allen Onyema. The occasion wasn’t just a great privilege to host and fly Nigeria’s former President to the United Kingdom.

It was much more than that. As Chief Onyema puts it, it demonstrates Air Peace’s unflappable commitment to “delivering safe, reliable, and world-class air travel experiences while connecting people across Nigeria and beyond”. For Obasanjo, the experience from Lagos to London Gatwick was a peaceful, cherished one. Unforgettable. Everything was almost inch perfect. As anyone who knows OBJ can tell, he’s not one to lavish praise on anything unless it is earned. His endorsement of Air Peace is a good testimonial that there’s a lot that one individual can do.

It’s part of Air Peace’s corporate culture to earn the trust of its customers. In 12 years of its existence, the management skills of Onyema, his discipline and focus on the business have made the airline not to have any furloughs in spite of the current turbulent economic situation in the global aviation industry. However, in recent weeks, there have been a growing demarketing efforts against airline. The goal is to weaken the brand’s reputation for safety and reliability. This is being done by amplifying, and creating negativity around service failures that’s not its fault . In spite of this, the continued operation of Air Peace remains crucial for Nigerian aviation sector and economy. This has prompted calls for protection against such negative social media campaigns. But, the smear campaign remains, disturbingly so. Recent weeks have witnessed an avalanche of videos trending in the social media. Without verifiable evidence, some of them have brazenly attacked Air Peace. Some have openly called on passengers to boycot the carrier. Very sickening is that someTruth is, with Air Peace entry into international routes, foreign carriers have engaged in predatory pricing, significantly slashing fares to undermine Air Peace from lucrative Lagos, Abuja- London routes. Certainly, passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled, have every right to feel aggrieved, or voice their frustrations when their travel plans are disrupted. However, where disruptions occurs due to ‘force majeure’(unforseen event), and the airline makes reasonable effort to manage the situation(as Air Peace has always done) in a responsible manner, sensationalising such deserves careful attention.

This is not the first time Air Peace has suffered such misrepresentation in the social media. On July 13, 2025, an Air Peace aircraft, Boeing 737-524, with Registration number: 5N-BQQ from Lagos to Port Harcourt airport was involved in a runway excursion. All the passengers disembarked unhurt. There was no hesitation on the part of the airline crew in providing the samples so required to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau(NSIB). But it took NSIB over two weeks before the test result was released.

And when it eventually did, the results were not communicated to Air Peace, the employer of the flight crew. Instead, NSIB claimed that the toxicological test result indicated that the co-pilot and a cabin crew member, tested positive for alcohol and a hard drug suspected to be marijuana. A reconfirmation test at a licensed hospital in Lagos approved by the aviation authorities debunked the NSIB report. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) cleared the co-pilot and crew member of any wrongdoing.

Air Peace remains a responsible, responsive airline and a stickler for safety and transparency.

Going forward, a more coordinated communication campaign to manage public perception, counter misinformation and protect the brand has become necessary and expedient. The airline, which has been a ‘beautiful bride’ in Nigerian aviation sector, needs reminding that success is not final. In the words of British statesman, Winston Churchill, “success is never final. You have to keep earning it over and over again”. It should be an integral part of the corporate mission of the company.

Co-founder, former CEO and Chairman of American-based Southwest Airlines Herb Kelleher(1931-2019), put it more succinctly. He said that in “airline business, the intangibles are far more important than the tangibles. It should not end with just providing a good value – providing a good product at a reasonable price – you need to offer an infusion of spirituality”. What does that mean? It simply means making passengers feel every flight as a warm event in their lives. That will make them desire to come back. That’s what the ‘intangibles’ mean. It’s something that your competitors will find hard to imitate. of the trending videos were recycled junkies.

Among them were those posted by Big Brother celebrity Housemate Tacha, and Nollywood actress Funke Akindele, who on May 1, 2026, alleged that the airline left “passengers stranded” at London Gatwick. She also went overboard alleging “lack of care for elderly travellers”, and lack of access to baggage after a bird strike. One thing runs through all the videos. It’s embellished half-truth, and in some instances, outright tissues of lies aimed at discrediting Air Peace. It’s all one-sided story. None acknowledged the present enormous operational challenges confronting global aviation industry.

One of these challenges is the persistent shortage of aviation fuel(Jet A-1), which has spiked to over 300 percent in some regions, especially Nigeria due to the Middle East crisis. Other problems are the increase in bird strikes, leading to flight delays, disruptions, and in some cases, outright suspension of flights across the sector. In the last one week alone, Rano Air temporarily suspended flight operations to some domestic routes. Last Saturday, May 9, passengers bound for Nigeria spent about 8 hours in the sky aboard Delta airline DL54 , only to end up where they stated at Hartsfield-Jackson International airport, Atlanta Georgia, USA. Also, United Airlines suspended flights for two days last week. Last year, British Airways suspended a particular flight for three days. It was a partner airline that finally took the passengers to London.

And you begin to ask, where is the social media fury? But despite these difficulties, Air Peace is riding the storm. No furloughs. Employees are well taken care of. It has continued to keep communicating with customers and earning their trust. Yet, the attack persists. It raises some pertinent questions: what is Air Peace expected to do that it has not done already? Why are some passengers ever too quick to rush into conclusion, record and circulate damaging videos even after the airline has dutifully made efforts to manage the situation responsibly? Why are old videos recycled and presented as recent incidents?

Could there be a possibility that Air Peace is deliberately targeted, and systematically singled out for attack by certain interest groups? Or is this a smear campaign of envy against the rising profile of Air Peace and its founder, Onyema? These are questions that require deep interrogation. This much is clear now. The demarketing efforts are primarily driven by intense competition from both foreign and local airlines, especially since Air Peace entry into international routes. These negative social media campaigns seek to challenge Air Peace dominance and reputation leveraging on issues like flight delays and service quality.

Truth is, with Air Peace entry into international routes, foreign carriers have engaged in predatory pricing, significantly slashing fares to undermine Air Peace from lucrative Lagos, Abuja- London routes. Certainly, passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled, have every right to feel aggrieved, or voice their frustrations when their travel plans are disrupted. However, where disruptions occurs due to ‘force majeure’(unforseen event), and the airline makes reasonable effort to manage the situation(as Air Peace has always done) in a responsible manner, sensationalising such deserves careful attention.

This is not the first time Air Peace has suffered such misrepresentation in the social media. On July 13, 2025, an Air Peace aircraft, Boeing 737-524, with Registration number: 5N-BQQ from Lagos to Port Harcourt airport was involved in a runway excursion. All the passengers disembarked unhurt. There was no hesitation on the part of the airline crew in providing the samples so required to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau(NSIB). But it took NSIB over two weeks before the test result was released.

And when it eventually did, the results were not communicated to Air Peace, the employer of the flight crew. Instead, NSIB claimed that the toxicological test result indicated that the co-pilot and a cabin crew member, tested positive for alcohol and a hard drug suspected to be marijuana. A reconfirmation test at a licensed hospital in Lagos approved by the aviation authorities debunked the NSIB report. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) cleared the co-pilot and crew member of any wrongdoing.

Air Peace remains a responsible, responsive airline and a stickler for safety and transparency.

Going forward, a more coordinated communication campaign to manage public perception, counter misinformation and protect the brand has become necessary and expedient. The airline, which has been a ‘beautiful bride’ in Nigerian aviation sector, needs reminding that success is not final. In the words of British statesman, Winston Churchill, “success is never final. You have to keep earning it over and over again”. It should be an integral part of the corporate mission of the company.

Co-founder, former CEO and Chairman of American-based Southwest Airlines Herb Kelleher(1931-2019), put it more succinctly. He said that in “airline business, the intangibles are far more important than the tangibles. It should not end with just providing a good value – providing a good product at a reasonable price – you need to offer an infusion of spirituality”. What does that mean? It simply means making passengers feel every flight as a warm event in their lives. That will make them desire to come back. That’s what the ‘intangibles’ mean. It’s something that your competitors will find hard to imitate.