Nigeria’s Air Peace damp-leases two A320s

Air Peace (P4, Lagos) has increased its all-Boeing narrowbody fleet with the addition of two A320-200s damp-leased from SmartLynx Airlines Malta (LYX, Malta Int’l).

The contract was signed on November 11, 2021, for six months through May 11, 2022, with the first SmartLynx Airlines Malta A320 9H-SLI (msn 3866) currently being ferried to Nigeria and 9H-SLJ (msn 3880) to follow.

Air Peace said it would deploy the two A320s on both domestic and regional routes.

It currently operates eight B737-300s, five B737-500s, one B777-200(ER), two B777-300s, one VIP-configured Do328-300, eight E145s, and four E195-E2s, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. It has ambitious growth plans with firm orders for a further nine E195-E2s and ten B737-8s. Chief Operating Officer Oluwatoyin Olajide highlighted that the airline sees the A320s as an interim solution until more E2s arrive and underlined that the initial damp-lease could open new avenues for cooperation with SmartLynx going forward.

The Maltese ACMI/charter specialist operates seven A320-200s, two A321-200s, two A321-200(P2F)s, and five A330-300s. Its sister carrier, SmartLynx Airlines (6Y, Riga), operates six A320s and five A321s, while SmartLynx Airlines Estonia (MYX, Tallinn Lennart Meri) operates four A320-200s.

“While the pandemic has sadly taken its toll on many businesses, our strategy has been focused on the expansion of our valued client portfolio,” Vice-President (Sales and Development) Edvinas Demenius said.