Despite the recent increase in the acquisition of additional aircraft by Nigerian airlines, the hope of airfares dropping from the current high rates may be a mirage.
The airlines in recent weeks, leading to December, had taken delivery of additional aircraft to beef up their fleets, while many more would still take deliveries of additional equipment to boost their operations.
Already, airlines like Ibom Air, United Nigeria and Overland Airways, among a few others have taken deliveries of additional aircraft in recent months.
For instance, in November, United Nigeria took delivery of an Embraer 190 aircraft to bring its aircraft fleet of airplanes to six with plans to add at least three more aircraft to its fleet before the end of the year.
Mr. Umo Eno, Akwa Ibom State Governor, had taken delivery of two new Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft for Ibom Air in the same month.
Eno assured that his administration would expedite actions towards optimum returns on investment of public funds and assets within and outside the state.
Last October, Ibom Air had taken delivery of two new Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft with the registration numbers: 5N-CED and 5N-CEE to beef up its fleet.
Earlier, the airline had taken delivery of its second Airbus 220-300 aircraft to its growing fleet.
The airline said that the addition of the aircraft would allow it to increase flight frequencies on existing routes and expand to new destinations.
Also, Air Peace in November, reached an agreement with AirExplore from Slovak to take delivery of additional four Boeing 737-800 aircraft for the yuletide season.
A source close to the airline confided in our correspondent that the acquisition, which is a dry-lease agreement, was part of Air Peace’s effort to enhance its domestic operations out of its main hub in Lagos, aiming to cater to the increased demand expected during the yuletide period.
Air Peace at present has over 20 aircraft in its fleet and the arrival of the four B737-800 aircraft would bring its fleet to above 30 aircraft. At present, one-way air tickets oscillate between N115, 000 to N200, 000 locally, depending on the routes, airlines and time of booking.
However, the airfares are expected to rise to between N200, 000 to N300, 000 and more for the same one-way ticket from this December, which is the peak of the yuletide season.
But some of the stakeholders, including Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), said additional aircraft in the fleets of the airlines may not necessarily lead to a drop in airfares. Rather, they said it may lead to reduction in flight delays and cancellations, stressing that air tickets would also be more accessible to the flying public.
They declared that several indexes are responsible for airfares and not only inadequate aircraft as claimed by some in the sector.
Okonkwo in an interview with the media, dismissed the possibility of airfares reduction in spite of the arrival of more aircraft. He also declared that any airfares lower than $150 (about N261, 000) was being subsidised for by someone else.
According to Okonkwo, variables like foreign exchange, costs of aviation fuel and crumbling naira against the dollars are responsible for the current high airfares in the domestic scene. He also lamented that airline operators did not have access to soft loans from the government or special window for foreign exchange despite the appeal for such by operators and some stakeholders in the sector.
For instance, the UNA Chairman explained that the inconsistency in the value of naira against major currencies, especially the dollar, was negatively impacting the operations of the airlines. He emphasised further that apart from selling air tickets in naira and payment of in-flight catering services in local currency, every other expense in the sub-sector was domiciled in dollars.
He said: “I don’t think so (reduced airfares). This is so because some of these costs are benchmarked against the naira and then, the cost of aviation fuel. The lower the value of naira, the higher the cost of aviation fuel and the higher the cost of our operations in naira.
“You should bother less on whatever you are paying now because whatever you are paying now is not what you should be paying. For instance, in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), a 30-minute flight, the minimum base ticket is about $150 and I’ve always said that if you are going to buy your ticket and you pay at less than $150, then, somebody else is subsidising your ticket.
“What is calculated in aviation is per cycle, irrespective of the length of the flight. Everything about aircraft is about taking off and landing. The hope is that you will no longer have to wait for weeks to get a ticket to travel, the aircraft are now available in the market.
“The prayers of air travelers should be that there should be more airlines in business to service them. It should be less of how much you are paying for the cost of the ticket because if you are paying for the cost of a ticket, it should be a minimum of $150.”
Recently, Capt. Ado Sanusi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Aero Contractors, in an interview with our correspondent, confirmed that Aero was gearing up for expected surge in the winter season.
According to him, the airline has crashed its one-way ticket in the domestic market to N80,000 from about N150,000. “Slash in airfares would enable families to reunite during the Christmas and New year celebrations. We are introducing pocket-friendly Christmas pricing because as a company with an old history of understanding its customers, we need to give back to them and the promo will start from N80,000 to all our destinations for them to meet their families and loved ones.” He said.
At present, Aero Contractors operates nine routes in the domestic scene. The routes are Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Benin, Port Harcourt, Asaba, Yola, Sokoto and Calabar. However, Aero Contractors currently has three aircraft in its fleet. Two of the aircraft are Cally Air Boeing 737 aircraft.
“Currently, we have three aircraft in our fleet and two are currently running while one is coming up from repair. We are not increasing our routes, but only routes we ply. “We intend to maintain our fleet of about three and we won’t bring any aircraft from outside, but we intend to let our customers connect their destinations,” he said.
Sanusi further dismissed leasing of aircraft by the airline for its December operations.
But, Sanusi assured that the airline intended to increase the fleet to 10 aircraft in the coming years.
But, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), said no fewer than 10 additional aircraft have been approved to be delivered to Nigerian airline operators by Mr. Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, following the signing of the Cape Town Convention Practice Direction and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DDCA).
NCAA also assured air travelers of seamless flight services during the yuletide period, despite the surge in traffic during the period.
Mr. Michael Achimugu, the Director Consumer Protection and Public Affairs, NCAA, disclosed recently in Port Harcourt, during a Road Show/Enlightenment Campaign to sensitise air travellers on the appropriate process of laying complaints on issues of disruption.
Achimugu said that the additional airplanes would increase the capacity of fleets for air operations in Nigeria during the yuletide season. According to the director, the deployment of the 10 aircraft would drastically reduce the disruption of air travels during the 2024 festive season and onward.
He noted that many travelers do not know that when their rights were violated or plans disrupted that they ought to report to the NCAA, stating that the sensitisation was to empower air passengers to know their rights and responsibilities.
He said: “There will not be disruptions this festive season, because of the Hon. Minister’s signing of the Cape Town Convention Practice Direction and my Directorate General of Civil Aviation, DDCA, Capt. Chris Najomo, more aircraft are coming into the country.
“Recently, there are 10 new aircraft in Nigeria, spread across airlines, Ibom Air, Air Peace, United Nigeria. This has ramped up the fleets in Nigeria, because we have always had capacity problems. But now, we have more planes. The disruptions are going to reduce.
“In NCAA we are recording in the history of Nigeria the issue of case resolution. Nigeria is one of the few countries in the whole world where airlines are made to pay 100 per cent refund without charges.”
Quote: “We are introducing pocket-friendly Christmas pricing because as a company with an old history of understanding its customers, we need to give back to them and the promo will start from N80,000 to all our destinations for them to meet their families and loved ones.”