A novel alliance, the first of its kind in Nigeria, saw the light of day yesterday, March 8, 2022 in Lagos; formed by six (06) domestic airlines aiming to better serve the flying public by being each others’ succor in adverse times to ultimately give travelers the best possible travel experience. The historic agreement – Spring Alliance – was signed by Air Peace Airline, Azman Air, United Airline, Aero Contractors, Max Air and Arik Air.
According to the Chairman of Air Peace/Vice President of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Allen Onyema, “In the aviation world, there are many alliances airlines key into, for example the Star Alliance, One World and several others. Airlines decide to key into those alliances for the benefit of both the passengers and the airlines themselves. The name of this alliance is Spring Alliance and by it, our passengers are protected whenever there is a problem with one member-airline. This is our response to the complaints of the flying public”, he said.
Going further, Onyema elaborated on the benefits Spring Alliance will accrue for the passengers of the six (06) signatory airlines thus: “For example, if Air Peace has a tech issue on any of its aircraft, the passengers of Air Peace need not be delayed. If any member of this alliance is going to the same destination, all we need to do is move the passengers over to that other airline, at no further cost to the passenger.” He also noted that membership of the Alliance is not limited only to Nigerian airlines, and encouraged more airlines to sign up.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United Nigeria Airline, Obiora Okonkwo referred to the partnership as one that will “revolutionize” the travel experience of Nigerian travelers, adding that Spring Alliance was born because its architects were able to think outside the box to implement strategies that have proven to be effective elsewhere in the world.
The Managing Director (MD) of Aero Contractors, Capt. Abdullahi Mahmood noted that the creation of the Alliance is proof that operators can make the best out of a bad situation and show how much they care about their passengers:
“Safety is the number one priority and this is what we stand for. Delays are caused by problems that passengers might not know about, and we just carry them from one point to another on time, while making sure that everything goes smoothly. We are asking that passengers give their utmost cooperation, as we are doing our best. We are all in this together and hopefully, we’ll come out together”, he said.
The creation of Spring Alliance is a much welcome development, as it is expected to mitigate issues in the industry which have become endemic in recent times, especially flight delays and cancellations, which have become major causes for concern among passengers as well as airline operators – both doing their best to muddle through the times.
