Lagos to London: How Air Peace Challenged My First Impressions

BY CHRISTY ANYANWU

Travel often has a way of confronting our expectations. Sometimes, we set out with excitement; at other times, we travel with doubts planted in our minds by the experiences or opinions of others.

My first journey on Air Peace from Lagos to London was one such experience. I boarded the aircraft with some reservations, largely because of what I had heard about the airline. But by the time I returned to Nigeria, I had acquired a more personal perspective—one shaped not by hearsay, but by what I had actually experienced.

Looking back, I was reminded of the biblical account of the cupbearer and the baker in the story of Joseph in Egypt. Their experiences were eventually recorded, and I felt a sense of guilt that I had not documented mine earlier. That thought eventually pushed me to tell this story.

Two years ago, while planning a work trip to the United Kingdom, I booked an Air Peace ticket through Wakanow, a travel agency in Surulere, Lagos. The deciding factor was simple: price.

I had previously travelled to the UK on other airlines, but Air Peace offered a fare that fitted my budget.

There was, however, one detail that made me pause. For more than a decade, my flights to Britain had landed at Heathrow Airport. This time, my destination was Gatwick.

Then came another concern.

When I told a friend about my travel plans, the immediate reaction was:

“Why Air Peace? I’ve heard they lose people’s luggage.”

The statement stayed with me. For a moment, I contemplated changing my booking. But the additional cost and the conditions attached to changing the ticket did not make economic sense. I decided to keep the booking and judge the airline from my own experience.

The trip itself was work-related. I was travelling to cover Africa Fashion Week London in August and later the World Travel Market in November. I therefore expected to spend several weeks moving around the city.

A take-off so smooth; it went unnoticed

On departure night, I boarded the Boeing 777 and settled into my middle seat.

A young woman sat beside me, while on my other side was an elderly woman who appeared to be travelling abroad for the first time.

About 15 minutes after take-off, she gently tapped me.

“When is the plane going to move?” she asked.

I smiled.

“Ha, ma, we have been in the air for some time now.”

She looked at me in disbelief.

“Do you mean this plane is moving?” she queried.

Her reaction was priceless. The aircraft had taken off so smoothly that she had not realised we were already airborne.

It was one of those spontaneous moments that make travelling memorable.

Throughout the flight, the cabin crew remained courteous and attentive. The meals arrived as scheduled, and somewhere over the Atlantic, I found myself eating smoky party jollof rice—something I certainly did not expect to encounter on an international flight.

The arrival at Gatwick was equally smooth. The aircraft touched down without drama, drawing spontaneous applause from several passengers.

Talking to the captain

As a reporter, I have a habit of asking questions whenever I encounter something that catches my attention. So, after the flight, I reached out to the pilot, Captain Tochukwu Ejezie.

I am a proud reporter and not shy doing my interviews wherever I find newsworthy clues.

Ejezie, who has been flying for more than 11 years, started his career on Airbus aircraft before eventually becoming a captain on the Boeing 777.

Reflecting on the flight, he said: “We flew from Lagos to London, the south side of London, which is Gatwick. That is where we fly currently. We will soon start Abuja-to-Gatwick Airport. (Air Peace commenced its Abuja-London flight last year).”

He also disclosed that the flight carried 313 passengers and nine cabin crew members, in addition to the flight deck crew.

In all, there were 324 souls on board the aircraft.

Gatwick: A different London experience

My apprehension about Gatwick quickly disappeared.

Immigration formalities were straightforward, and baggage collection was faster than I had expected. Before long, I was on London’s Elizabeth Line heading towards northeast London.

Instead of paying about £60 for a taxi, I used London’s rail network at a fraction of the cost.

The experience reminded me that an unfamiliar destination is not necessarily an inconvenient one.

A second flight, a closer look

I flew Air Peace again the following year, on April 30—my birthday.

By then, the novelty of the first experience had disappeared. I therefore paid more attention to the details and, importantly, to what other passengers thought about the airline.

One of them was Mrs Bolanle Odidi, a UK-based nurse who had spent years travelling on international airlines.

Her assessment was largely positive. “to be honest with you, it was straightforward. I got to the airport on time. The customer service was good. I would say (they scored) 9 out of 10. Although their TV wasn’t working, that was not a priority for me because I really wanted to sleep after a long shift. And coming back to London now, my experience wasn’t bad.”

She continued: “They are well prepared. Even the check-in wasn’t bad; if people don’t have much to carry, it’s smooth. I have been flying Virgin for so long, no regrets, too. But for Air Peace to start a few months back (and reach this level) it’s not bad at all, unlike what people were saying on the internet. Maybe it’s because of the controversy of comparing them with other airlines that have more experience. But if we want to compare them, it’s a no-no. That was why I didn’t fly the airline initially but I just decided to try it. Now it’s a yes for me. It’s not bad at all and the customer service is great, they are well trained; they are good, they still follow the policies and procedures,” she said gleefully.

Moses Tano, a UK-based engineer who was travelling on Air Peace for the third time, also spoke positively about the airline, describing its service as reliable and seeing the patronage of a Nigerian carrier as a positive development for the country’s aviation industry.

The return flight: More passenger verdicts

On my return journey to Nigeria, I continued my conversations with fellow passengers.

Victor Otabor, a UK-based philanthropist, said competitive fares had encouraged him to give the airline a try.

“This is the second time I’m flying on Air Peace. The last time I flew return only, one way, with a few of my friends that have flown on it. The only complaint, we even joked about it, was about USB. I told them to forget the USB, we were talking about the ride first. And look at it; comparing the price of the plane, you can’t get a BA for £650 or £700; no way. The minimum you can find is from £800 and that is buying it for a long-term plan. But from these guys here, I paid £675. I know someone that pays £620 and it’s the same six-hour flight.”

His overall assessment was emphatic.

“If you ask me, I will fly again with this airline the next time I’m coming to Nigeria. I don’t have anything negative at all to say about them. It’s been a lovely flight. I had a fantastic flight. I had one of the most fantastic flights in recent times. I was just chatting with one of their staff in the rear toilet right now. I was telling him, I can’t remember the last time I had a smooth flight like this to Nigeria. For me, the service staff are very friendly. What I have experienced today was fantastic from the beginning. Coming in here has been one of my finest moments. I will continue to blow the trumpet of the good, smooth flight on Air Peace,” he declared.

Another passenger, Alhaja Nike Soyele, a Lagos-based businesswoman who regularly travels to Britain to visit her children, brought a different perspective shaped by decades of international travel.

She recalled travelling across Europe and Asia to purchase textiles.

“I travel every summer to stay with my children in the UK. All my children lived abroad. In those days I travelled abroad to get clothing materials, lace from Switzerland, Hong Kong and other European countries. I was always in the air. Their takeoff was okay. All their staff are friendly. We should patronize our own. I have told my children to also experience this aircraft,” she disclosed.

Business Class and the Nigerian touch

Pastor(Mrs) Eunice Iferi, who travelled in Business Class, was particularly impressed by the space, service and food.

“Flying Business Class with Air Peace was a truly pleasant and memorable experience”

She continued:

“As Nigeria’s leading indigenous airline, Air Peace demonstrated that world-class service can be delivered while proudly showcasing our local identity.

“From the moment I boarded, I was impressed by the professionalism and warmth of the cabin crew. Their courteous approach and attention to passengers created an atmosphere of comfort and ease throughout the journey. The spacious seating, generous legroom and quiet cabin made the flight exceptionally relaxing, allowing me to arrive at my destination refreshed.”

For her, the experience also offered value for money. Compared with many Business Class products, she considered Air Peace’s premium offering competitively priced, making the experience more accessible without compromising comfort.

Not every passenger had the same experience.

Yet, perhaps the most important lesson from my conversations with passengers was that travel experiences are rarely universal.

For UK-based Yemisi Omotoye, her experience with Air Peace has been a mixture of pleasant moments and considerable frustration.

She has flown the airline twice on the London-Nigeria route. One thing she genuinely appreciated was the food. However, she was disappointed that the in-flight entertainment system did not allow her to watch videos.

During her second trip, in November last year, she also found the interior of the aircraft below her expectations.

She subsequently resolved to try another airline.For her, Airpeace is a No.

This year, she travelled to Nigeria to celebrate Sallah with her husband, Alhaji Wasiu, boarding another flight.But after landing, another problem emerged.

The couple waited for more than two hours at the airport for one of her checked bags. Eventually, they discovered that the luggage had not arrived.

The bag was eventually delivered four days later—after the Sallah celebrations had ended.

With no alternative, the couple had to resort to emergency shopping and have new clothes sewn in time for the festival.

Her experience inevitably raises another question: what airline will Yemisi choose on her next journey?

For now, she has no definite answer.

Beyond the reputation

That, perhaps, is the real lesson of air travel.

Two people can board the same aircraft, sit in the same cabin and arrive at the same destination, yet leave with completely different impressions.

One passenger may praise the food; another may complain about the entertainment system. One may applaud the smoothness of the flight, while another may remember a missing suitcase.

My experiences with Air Peace did not suddenly make every criticism of the airline disappear. No airline is immune from complaints, and every carrier has areas in which it can improve.

What the experience did, however, was to remind me of the difference between reputation and reality.

Before that first journey, I had relied partly on what I had heard. After travelling, I had something more valuable: first-hand experience.

The journey from Lagos to London therefore became more than a flight. It became an opportunity to test assumptions, listen to other travellers and discover that the truth about an experience is often more complicated than what people say about it online.

In the end, I did not travel to prove the critics wrong or to confirm the praise.

I travelled—and allowed the journey to speak for itself.

Sometimes, that is the best way to understand a destination, an airline or even a reputation: go there, experience it, and make up your own mind.

 

–Christy Anyanwu is a Nigerian Journalist with TheSUN Newspapers