Barely two weeks after securing the highly coveted landing slot at London Heathrow Airport, Nigeria’s leading airline, Air Peace, has signalled a bold new phase in its international operations by holding a high-powered Strategic Leadership and Customer Experience Transformation Retreat.
The three-day retreat, which ran from Friday, July 25 to Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Lagos, brought together top-level executives of the airline to recalibrate its corporate vision, enhance leadership skills, and drive a customer-first service culture as it prepares for more international exposure. Organised in collaboration with Ricchezza Capital Advisors Ltd., a Lagos-based strategic consulting firm, the retreat was themed “21st Century Transformational Leadership: Building Resilience for Exceptional Customer Experience.”
According to a statement released by Air Peace on Monday and obtained by our correspondent, the event was part of the airline’s renewed commitment to service excellence and corporate sustainability in the face of global competition.
“This retreat offered more than just lectures. It was a space for deep reflection, peer-to-peer engagement, and strategic alignment—giving our leadership team the opportunity to reassess the airline’s direction in a highly customer-centric aviation world,” the statement read.
The retreat was anchored by Ricchezza’s Managing Consultant, Mr. Udeme Etukeyen, and co-facilitated by renowned communications strategist, Dr. Uche Nworah. Also featured were top-tier guest speakers such as Mrs. Oby Roberts, an acclaimed customer experience consultant; Mr. Joseph Edgar, former MD of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA); aviation expert Capt. Roland Iyayi; and Botswana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Philda Kereng.
Their sessions centred on leadership agility, brand reputation management, and how transformational leadership can shape a resilient airline amid global aviation shifts.
Air Peace’s Heathrow slot acquisition marks a significant milestone in its journey to becoming a truly global airline. The company says its leadership understands that this growth must be matched by internal capacity-building and visionary management.
“Air Peace is not just flying passengers; we are engineering unforgettable travel experiences. Our Heathrow success is a call to deepen our operational excellence and human capacity,” the statement added.
The airline has been on an expansion trajectory, with increasing regional and international routes including Jeddah, Tel Aviv, Mumbai, and now London. Yet, rather than rest on its laurels, the airline has doubled down on staff development as a strategic lever to scale new heights.
With rising customer expectations and competitive pressure in the aviation industry, the retreat’s emphasis on service delivery transformation underscores Air Peace’s resolve to become a leader not just in volume but in quality of service.
“Leadership and customer experience are two sides of the same coin. If we want to thrive globally, we must inspire from within,” said one of the retreat facilitators.
As Nigeria’s largest carrier and a beacon of private-sector success in the aviation sector, Air Peace’s Heathrow win is more than a commercial feat—it’s a symbol of national pride. The leadership retreat is part of the airline’s strategic recalibration to sustain this momentum.
Industry observers say the airline’s forward-thinking approach could set the standard for other African carriers aiming for a slice of the global aviation pie.