Air travelers might be forced to meet the current flight rates by paying through their nose following the recent increment.
File Photo
Local airlines yesterday increased ticket fares to take maximum advantage of high passenger demand on some domestic routes.
The increase, which is as high as 100 and 200 per cent on some
airlines, was influenced by the shortage of flights available,
especially on the Lagos and Abuja routes.
The development left several passengers stranded at the Lagos
airport, forcing some of them to travel by road. There was an unusual
heavy presence of air travellers at both General Aviation Terminal (GAT)
and Murtala Muhammed Airport II (MMA2) terminal, in Lagos, quite
typical of the period of fuel scarcity. Passengers and travel agents
alike were noticed shuttling from one airline to another to see which
had seats available and at affordable prices.
At about 2p.m, officials of airlines like Air Peace, Med-View and
Dana Air said all Abuja flights were fully booked. Scores of travel
agencies were, however, returning with flight tickets for passengers
that could pay high fees.
An economy class ticket, Abuja one-way, was sold for between
N60,000–N70,000, as against N23, 000 and N30, 000 at maximum. Business
class ticket went for an average of N90, 000. Arik was, however, selling
the minimum of about N45, 000 for economy class and N65, 000 for
business on Lagos-Abuja route yesterday.
A travel agent, Yinusa, said the airlines have in the last three
days raised fares because of the high passenger demand. He confirmed
that passengers have been buying despite the hike.
He added: “It is not our fault. Official rate from the airlines
for Abuja is N51, 800 (economy) and we too must make small profit. That
explains why I am selling for N60, 000. You cannot get ticket on the
counter; no seat available. Seats are scarce these days. Even all first
and second flights (Lagos-Abuja) are already fully booked,” he said.
It will be recalled that domestic travel operations had since last
weekend turned chaotic with the grounding of three Air Peace aircraft
out of the 10 in its fleet.
Air Peace currently has the largest market share of domestic
passenger traffic in the country. With multiple rescheduling and
cancellations on Air Peace schedule nationwide, there has been a
chain-reaction across the industry with traffic pull to other operators
that struggling with low capacity.
Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said each of
the grounded aircraft executes about eight flights per day and in total,
the development means 24 flights disrupted every day.
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