By Afolabi Hannah
The fare battle sparked by the reduction of airfare on the Lagos to London route by Air Peace has sparked concerns in the aviation sector over the apparent strategy of foreign airlines to drive the Nigerian carrier out of business.
Mixed reactions have already surfaced in the industry over the unexpected price reductions beyond typical levels.
Many believe the move may not have been motivated by genuine concern for passengers, but rather by retaliation against Air Peace for previously lowering the exorbitant prices charged by the airlines.
Depending on the airline and booking period, some major carriers, including British Airways, which previously charged around N3 million for economy class, now offer the same ticket for less than N2 million.
Royal Air Maroc has also recently reduced its economy ticket to as low as ($456.99) N569,422, while Virgin Atlantic ($927.99) N1.1 million and Egyptair ($470) N585,620 have also lowered their fares.
However, the reports at the time of publication indicated that Air Peace’s economy ticket was N1.2 million; British Airways’ ($1,348) N1.5 million; Royal Air Maroc’s ($1,299,40) N1.4 million; and Virgin Atlantic’s ($1,158) N1.3 million.
Commenting on the situation, former acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Benedict Adeyileka, stated in an interview that the aviation industry is a competitive environment.
Adeyileka explained: “It is a commercial enterprise, and everyone needs to sell. While politics plays a role, it also creates opportunities for price manipulation. Price manipulation is a notoriously difficult battle to win. There were reasons for the previous price increase.
Firstly, there was high demand. When demand rises, so do prices. Secondly, there was no competition. We lacked a Nigerian airline operating international flights until Air Peace entered the market.
Air Peace single-handedly reduced prices. However, I must emphasize that foreign airlines would not have been able to accomplish this without the assistance of Nigerians. Who are the individuals responsible for ticket sales in Nigeria? Nigerians are they.
”Who are the individuals responsible for granting them multi-city designations? Nigerians are they. Who are the individuals responsible for allowing Lufthansa to fly into Abuja and then continue on to Port Harcourt? Nigerians are they. Nigerians are the ones who are enabling Qatar to do the same.
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