AIRFARE DISPARITY AGAINST NIGERIA
The 30-day ultimatum issued by the Federal Government to foreign airlines operating in the country to stop their discriminatory airfare regime against Nigeria is a step in the right direction. Under the controversial regime, passengers flying to Europe from Nigerian airports pay much more for tickets than those flying to the same destination on the same class of ticket from Ghana and other West African countries.
For instance, British Airways charges $10,070 for a First Class flight ticket from Abuja to London, while passengers flying from Accra to London pay $4,943 for the same class of ticket.
Abuja - London Premium Economy ticket costs $3,208, while Accra - London ticket of the same category is $2,240. The Economy ticket on the same flight costs $2,840 from Abuja but $2,156 from Accra.
Virgin Atlantic charges Nigerians $4,173 and $2,956 for its Lagos -London Premium Economy and Economy tickets respectively. Fliers from Accra pay $1,826 and $1,563 respectively for the same categories of tickets to London. Lufthansa rate for Abuja - Frankfurt Economy class ticket is $3,661 while Accra Frankfurt on the same class of ticket is $1,330.
This wide disparity in airfares between passengers flying from Nigerian and Ghanaian Airports is both inexplicable and provocative. Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, who issued the deadline is, therefore, right to convey Nigerians' rejection of this unfair pricing arrangement via the ultimatum, which came into effect on March 26.
The deadline followed delay tactics adopted by some of the airlines which, last year, promised to conduct a study of their fare pricing in West Africa to determine the basis of the amounts charged, and report back to the minister by December 31, 2011.
The airline operators, since that time, never came up with any acceptable justification for the fare regime until the Ministry of Aviation issued the ultimatum on March 25. Since the ultimatum, however, some of the airlines have hinged their higher fares in Nigeria on higher airport charges in the country. Nothing concrete has been provided by the airlines to back this claim. British Airways, last week, also said its air tickets in Nigeria conform with the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with the country.
The controversy further deepened at the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation last Monday, when the Country Manager of British Airways, Mr. Kola Olayinka, declined to commit his organisation to a decision to reduce airfares in Nigeria. He told the committee that the environment and competition determined its pricing policy in Nigeria, adding that a decision on fare reduction by British Airways depended on the outcome of ongoing inter-governmental discussions between the Nigerian Ministry of Aviation and the British Department of Transport, which is scheduled to end in June.
He insisted that EU Anti-Trust Laws prevent airline operators from discussing prices and strategies at any meeting where other airline operators are also in attendance. He was still not forthcoming when representatives of other airlines were asked to leave the hall, angering the Honourable (Mrs.) Nkiruka Onyejeocha-led committee, which thereafter directed the airline to either reduce its ticket prices on the London-Lagos route or quit Nigeria.
The explanations from British Airways and the other airlines cannot justify the questionable price regime which makes Nigerians pay more than twice what is charged for the same class of tickets in Ghana, in some instances. The distance between Nigeria and Ghana does not justify the wide disparity in airfares from the two countries to Europe. There is also no level of disparity in airport charges that can justify the gap. The discrimination against Nigeria smacks of sheer exploitation. The airlines appear to be playing on the intelligence of Nigerians. They should not be allowed to continue with the practice.
The high cost of international air tickets in Nigeria does not give our nationals a level playing field. It puts Nigerians at a great disadvantage. And, the country loses money when our citizens travel to neighbouring countries to connect international flights.
With the high patronage foreign airlines enjoy in Nigeria, Nigerians would be right to expect fair prices, but that is not the case. It is good that the government has given the airlines 30 days from March 26 to dismantle their unfair price regime, or face a ban. That period is enough for the airlines to review their pricing template and give Nigerians a fair deal. For the sake of all stakeholders, we hope the ongoing inter-governmental discussions will lead to a reduction in prices.
Ultimately, however, Nigeria must work towards the provision of an environment in which indigenous airlines can thrive and compete favourably with foreign carriers on all routes, to bring down airfares.