Air Peace, Arik Air increase base fare for economy flights to N50,000

        Air Peace, Arik Air, and others increase base fare for economy flights to N50,000

Nigerians and frequent flyers are concerned about the hike in prices of flight tickets. People are saying that indeed traveling by air is becoming more and more a luxury than an affordable means of transport for the average man.

Azman Air, Max Air, Ibom Air, Arik Air, Air Peace, and Dana Air are among the carriers.

According to TheCable, most airlines have hiked their basic rates for Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri destinations to N50,000.

For example, Azman Air and Max Air have rates of N50,000 for Sunday. Ibom Air charges N53,000 for an economy seat, whereas Arik Air, Air Peace, and Dana Air charge more than N50,000.

Adebanji Ola, Arik Air's public relations and communications manager, pointed TheCable to the company's website for flight prices when asked.

He was adamant about not saying anything else about it.

Allen Onyema, AON's vice president and chairman/CEO of Air Peace, did not return his phone calls.

Last week, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) published a statement condemning passenger attacks on airline workers and facilities at various airports due to flight delays or cancellations.

The group also expressed concern about the high cost of jet A1 fuel, currency scarcity, inflation, increases in ground handling fees, and the cost of purchasing and importing spare components.

Obiora Okonkwo, chairman of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), told aviation media that the abrupt increase in the price of Jet A1 was harming airline operations.

"The cheapest ticket we sold a year ago was N23, 000 when aviation fuel was N190 and the official rate of the naira to the dollar was N340," he said. "Today, if FX is available, it is N450; if it is not, the alternative market is N570 to the dollar," he added.

Aero Contractors, which used to charge around N30,000 for a flight from Lagos to Abuja, now charges around N48,365, while Green Airways Africa, which used to charge around N22,000 for a flight from Lagos to Abuja, now charges over N33,000 for economy class. For the March 3 flight from Lagos to Abuja, the same base price of N50,000 was set.