'No more N50,000' - Air Peace, Arik Air, others increase ticket costs as demand rises ahead of Xmas

The price of airline tickets has continued to increase as the countdown to Christmas begins.

Legit.ng reported earlier that airlines operating local routes had adjusted their ticket prices by as much as 100%, citing economic realities.

According to ThisDay investigation, the base fare begins at N80,000 and goes up to about N150,000 for the economy ticket.

Similarly, the business class ticket as of Wednesday, November 22, was N110,000. There are, however, indications that the cost may rise to over N200,000.

A protocol officer noted that there has been a high demand for tickets. According to the officer, the economy ticket for December is already exhausted.

He said: “Economy class begins at N80, 000. It is no more N50, 000 and as we are talking the flights available are fully booked. We just hope that airlines will add more flights, but even at that, the fares will still be high and will continue to rise. As Christmas draws nearer the fares will increase. Destinations like Enugu and Owerri are fully booked already.

“The price of tickets has continued to skyrocket. I bought a Lagos to Uyo business class ticket at N253,000 on an Ibom Air flight; Air Peace, N250,000. The business class tickets may start from N96,000 to N110,000 and begin to graduate from there, as demand increases.

"But even with the high prices, people are still buying tickets; people are still traveling; the airports are full. I guess that the major reason why the prices are going so high is that there is not enough aircraft, so few seats are available,”

Findings also indicated that the cost of a return ticket for an hour flight jumped to N300,000.

Chris Ndulue, the Chief Operating Officer of Cleanserve Energy and former Managing Director of Arik Air, explained that the cost of aviation fuel does not cause the hike in flight tickets as that has been stable for a while.

According to him, the Christmas period is usually the biggest season for Nigerian carriers as flight ticket costs naturally increase. He added that airlines cannot survive without the season.

Kingsley Ezenwa, head of communications at Dana Air, said that the average fuel sold, about N950 to N1000 per litre, contributes to the increase in fares.

He attributed the hardship faced by the airlines to the exchange rate and the fact that most airline expenses, such as aircraft maintenance, payment of insurance premiums, and pilot training, are denominated in dollars.

Legit.ng had reported that Foreign and local airlines had adjusted their airfare to reflect the drop in the naira's value in the official foreign exchange market.

As a result, one-way economy class tickets on international routes from Nigeria could be sold for as high as N2 million, no longer N800,000.