TravTalk India Online Magazine
Minar Group has been appointed as the General Sales Agent for a Nigerian airline based in Lagos – Air Peace – which is expected to start operations in India this year out of Mumbai. It will be the first Nigerian carrier to connect India with Lagos and other West African countries.
Nisha Verma
Minar Group will be undertaking sales and marketing activities for Nigerian airline Air Peace in order to position the brand and create awareness about it in the Indian market. Speaking on the new airline on board, Harvinder Singh Duggal, Managing Director, Minar Group of Companies, says, “We’re excited to establish a footprint in the West African market. Experts estimate that by 2034, India will become one of the largest aviation markets in the world, and business ties with Africa will grow manifold. We’re gearing up to take a strategic positioning and look forward to a close partnership with Air Peace.” Air Peace currently serves the major cities of Nigeria and flies to West African and Middle Eastern destinations.
While the exact date of the route launch is not yet decided, Ruhani Duggal, Director, Minar Group, says it will start with Mumbai. “We are just gearing up for that, including sales, promotions, and setting up the infrastructure and we are super excited to collaborate with Air Peace and position them to the top when it comes to the Indian market. The aircraft in operation for Lagos-Mumbai route is the Boeing 777 which has a three-class configuration. The airline also has some fabulous connections when it comes to the Middle East,” she says. So far, Mumbai is the only route that has been confirmed out of India.
In terms of their strategy, Ruhani shares that they are going to take a two-pronged approach with sales. “The first approach is, of course, the B2B channel. Since we have a strong portfolio of GSAs in our company, our network of B2B agents is strong pan India and we think it’s all about building relationships when it comes to promoting airlines. What is required are good promotional offers and a strong network where we can promote Air Peace and show our agents the value of choosing it over other airlines. When it comes to B2C customers, which is our second approach, we will start by educating the Indian customer first about what all is there in West Africa to explore. Usually with marketing in Minar Group, we like to take a reverse funnel approach. We first like to set the base about the airline, about the place, the connectivity, etc., and then we start narrowing down specific selling strategies, and look at incentives for our B2C as well as B2B clients,” she details.
Air Peace already has a wonderful loyalty programme, she reveals. “Besides that, we’ll look at offers and promotions, and collaborating with social media bloggers. Hence, there are a lot of ideas that we are experimenting with. Air Peace already holds a lot of love when it comes to public sentiment. I have no doubt that we can do a remarkable job to position Air Peace at the top.”
Outlining the safety and sanitisation measures, Ruhani adds, “We will be doing standard checks like having RT-PCR tests uploaded before travellers board the flight, and temperature checks and masks are mandatory. Sanitisers are available and the aircraft is sanitised before and after arrival of passengers. There is also a health evaluation form which needs to be uploaded on Nigeria’s portal when one is flying with Air Peace. Besides that, Air Peace is also an IOSA-certified airline, which is a standard benchmark when it comes to safety in aviation. Hence, I think Air Peace is doing a great job when it comes to sanitisation and it’s going to be no less when it starts flying to India.”
