Air passengers and stakeholders are worried that domestic air fares have surpassed tickets to some West African countries.
This is causing disquiet in the industry even as ticketing staff of airlines are said to be in cahoots with touts at airports, making it difficult for passengers to travel with ease.
It is now becoming increasingly difficult for passengers to seamlessly book for their flights, as checks on the portals of various airlines show that they are almost constantly fully booked, especially on the Lagos-Abuja route.
Findings revealed that ticketing officers of the airlines work closely with online touts to mop up the tickets, especially on the day of the journey.
This has worsened the woes of passengers as a return ticket from Lagos to Abuja periodically costs up to N500, 000.
Air fares have recently skyrocketed and got worse during the Eid-El-Kabir holiday for those who did not plan their journey ahead, with a one-way ticket from Lagos to Abuja selling as much as N280,000.
Apart from Lagos-Abuja, passengers occasionally pay up to N200, 000 for routes that are relatively underserved but with an appreciable number of passengers.
This is evident when one tries to book online, but only to find out that the seats are fully booked; but by the time one gets to the airport, the 'middlemen' will quickly present themselves.
They would quote the price and if one complies, the touts will get to the counter and quickly return with a boarding pass.
For instance, a Kano-Abuja flight was recently sold for N230, 000 on Max Air despite being a 40-minute flight, while Kano to Lagos was sold for almost N200,000.
Another very expensive route is Lagos-Port Harcourt with the ticket going for N190, 800 on Ibom Air, while Air Peace charges N171,600. Ibom Air yesterday quoted N238, 000 for a one-way flight from Lagos to Abuja on a Premium Economy seat.
Arik Air quoted N237,835 and N190,217 for Monday and Tuesday flights to Port Harcourt from Lagos respectively, while it is N171,761 on Value Jet.
Lagos-Abuja flight now more expensive than Lagos-Accra flight
Our correspondent reports that some passengers now pay more on Lagos-Abuja return tickets than Lagos-Accra, which is an international route.
International air routes are considered generally more expensive considering the taxes and charges, especially the passenger service charge (PSC) alone, which costs $100 (N156,300 at the official rate as at July 12, 2024).
Checks on Africa World Airlines (AWA) yesterday indicated that a one-way flight from Lagos to Accra costs about N233,000 for a Thursday flight, but about N300,000 for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
An Ibom Air flight to Accra costs N266,400 for a one-way ticket, while Air Peace's ticket to Accra costs N229,000. Also, Air Peace's Cotonou flight costs N286,000.
A concerned passenger, who gave his name simply as Simon, said: "I have always believed that air fares are high in Africa because of taxes and charges but last week I paid more from Lagos to Benin than I paid from Lagos to Accra, Ghana
"I also paid more from Anambra to Lagos than from Lagos to Accra, Ghana. In the same week, it cost me more from Abuja to Lagos than from Lagos to Accra.
"So, all along, people have been lying to us about taxes and charges because I do not understand paying N230,000 for a 45-minute flight within Nigeria. In one week I paid over N200,000 each time for domestic tickets", he said.
It's traumatic traveling these days - Passengers
An air traveller, Emmanuel Andrew John, said it was tough for him when he wanted to travel from Abuja to Lagos for an event on Friday.
"When I checked the websites of three airlines - Air Peace, United Nigeria and Max Air, they were fully booked. There was no available ticket.
"It was then I realised that I was naive not to have booked five days earlier when I checked and discovered that a one way ticket was around ₦130,000.
"But considering that I really wanted to travel, I went to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. At the counter of the airlines, they said they don't have any tickets left.
"However, when I was about to leave, a well-dressed tout approached me and said that he has a ticket if I can pay N190,000 for a one way trip.
"I was a bit hesitant but he assured me that he has the ticket. I gave it a try and lo and behold, in less than 10 minutes, he brought me the boarding pass of one of the airlines," he said.
Abdullahi Ismail, who returned to Abuja from Lagos, said he bought his ticket for N250,000.
"I asked my secretary to book the flight for me online. Sadly, she checked almost all the available airlines - Air Peace, ValueJet, Max Air, Rano, Ibom Air, and others, but they were all filled up," he said.
Abdullahi said it was his friend who advised him to go to the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Ikeja and assured him that he will get a ticket on arrival.
"Even though I wasn't sure, I gave it a try...I went to the counters of most of the airlines at the airport, but they said they don't have a vacant seat.
"I was about to leave the last counter when a lady beckoned on me. She pointed at a young man and said I should contact him. She said he will get me a ticket.
"When I approached him, he said he has a ticket but it will cost me N250,000 for a one way flight to Abuja. I was disturbed, but then, I agreed. I paid him the money and he left for about 15 minutes, only for him to return with my boarding pass. I was later told that the actual value of the ticket was around N160,000," he said.
He said there was no way this could happen without the hands and active connivance of ticketing officials of the airlines and touts.
"I strongly feel that this is a sophisticated racket! Come to think of it, how can it be possible that when you check the online booking portal of the airlines, you will be told that all the tickets have been sold out, but if you go to the airport, some people will sell the same ticket to you but it will be very expensive?
"It appears that some people are deliberately working on our weak enforcement systems to cause untold hardship.
"I believe some people block the tickets from the back end of the booking portals, or in the alternative, they buy off the tickets, hoard them, then resell them at very expensive rates to people who are desperate to travel. The government must do something to crack the cartel because what is happening is not good for the image of Nigeria," he said.
Why air fares are expensive - Operators
Airline operators have blamed the current hike in prices of tickets on the factor of demand and supply amidst the dwindling fleets, with most of their aircraft grounded.
Daily Trust findings indicated that over 50 per cent of aircraft belonging to the domestic airlines are either on ground or stranded in maintenance facilities across the globe. This has reduced the capacity of the airlines to meet existing passengers' demand.
It was also gathered that most airlines have reduced their frequencies to align with their current capacity threshold.
For instance, a check by Daily Trust indicated that Air Peace has reduced its flights to Ilorin from daily to three times a week - Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
"This is temporary. We will resume daily flights when all our aircraft arrive from maintenance," a source within the airline said.
Azman Air, it was gathered, has limited its operations to only Abuja and a few Northern states without any flight originating or heading to Lagos.
A frequent flier with one of the domestic carriers, Muazu Shehu, in a chat with our correspondent, said he paid over N300,000 for a return ticket to Lagos from Kano.
"It appears we are yet to see the worst of the current situation because we can't even predict where the ticket is going?", he said.
Operators blame increase on demand and supply
Chief Executive Officer of Aero Contractors, Capt. Ado Sanusi stated that it is natural that the available seats would be priced higher in line with the demand and supply principle. He said: "This is basic economics; it's demand and supply. We don't have seats to cater for the demand of the passengers. The passengers are many, and so airlines would naturally gravitate to higher prices. It is just natural: demand and supply.
"Usually, when the demand is high, airlines would gravitate to higher prices and when the demand comes down, it is natural for the airlines to reduce their prices.
"If you look at it, the main problem is the seat. The available seats are filled; the number of passengers willing to travel are many. For the airlines, they would just be selling their seats to the highest bidders", he said.
How to stop racketeering
Sanusi further said, to eradicate touting of tickets, the operators, working with the regulatory authorities, must urgently review the processes of checking in passengers.
"For touting of tickets, the only way it can be tackled is that we must have a way, and as quickly as possible, of linking passengers with their BVN. If a passenger buys a flight ticket, we must do it in such a way that we link his BVN to his ticket.
"This is because we do not have any form of identification number that we can hold on to apart from the BVN. The reason why I said so is, now that touts would go to the airline system and buy tickets with bogus names and resell to passengers that are extremely desperate for the tickets and when they sell, they go and make ID cards in those names, and when the airport security asks for that ID card, they present that ID card.
"So, the whole system must change. We must insist that you produce a government ID card, which must be linked to your BVN so that we know you are the one holding that ticket", he said.
An executive of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Mr. Roland Iyayi, in a chat with Daily Trust, confirmed the present hike in air fares inching towards half a million naira for a return ticket.
According to him, while the present hike is not sustainable for passengers, the airlines had no option in order to remain in business.
He said: "There is no foreign exchange. No access to foreign exchange. They have aircraft at maintenance facilities worldwide; they don't have forex to recover. What you have right now is a shortfall in capacity. With the reduced capacity of airlines, seats are at a premium. So, the effect of demand and supply has kicked in.
"If they have more aircraft in the country, then you would have more seats and with demand, you can still manage. But right now, it is difficult to manage your demand", he said.
To address the current situation, the federal government "must make necessary arrangements for airlines to have access to foreign exchange in the first instance, reducing the unnecessary taxes and charges applied to the industry, and then of course, ensuring that we have policies that can sustain the growth of the industry."
High fares will scare away passengers - Analysts
Aviation analyst, Capt. Ibrahim Yinusa said the current fares are too exorbitant and would scare away passengers. He urged the airlines to cut down the fares to be able to attract more passengers.
"Passenger load will surely drop. Airlines must cut it (fare) down to affordable prices otherwise they will be flying with very poor load, at losses," he said.
Another industry player who spoke on the condition of anonymity said among the airlines' operational variables, there has been a drastic reduction in price of aviation fuel known as Jet A1.
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