Joseph Olaoluwa
There has been a significant increase in the airfares as airlines prepare to resume operations Wednesday.
The Federal Government had directed the resumption of domestic flights on July 8th after the March 30th lockdown of the airlines.
Checks by our correspondent revealed that the airlines raised their fares in all class of tickets for one-hour flights from Lagos to Abuja.
While flights for Dana Air on Economy Discount sold for N33,000 for a one way Lagos to Abuja flight, the Economy Flexible plan sold for N70,500.
Air Peace for its Economy-Flexi Domestic plan sold for N33,001 for a one way Lagos-Abuja trip while its business class ticket sold for N80,000.
Azman had economy tickets sold for N33,000 while business class sold for N60,000 for the same 1hour, 15 minutes’ trip.
Arik Air’s Economy plan was the lowest with N29,189 for economy and 71,532 for business class flights for a one-way Lagos to Abuja trip. One of the business class one-way trips sold for N126,199 for a trip slated for 4 pm.
More checks by our correspondent revealed that the ticket costs were driven by extra costs factored into the base fare.
In Air Peace’s economy flight breakdown, the base fare was N14, 239 while taxes and other fares made up the remaining N18, 762, pushing the total amount to N33,001.
Spokesperson of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa who reacted to the costs said it was imperative customers booked flights early enough. However, he argued that the airline’s ticket prices were quite competitive.
Before the lockdown, economy tickets could go for as low as N15,000 and as high as N40,000 for one-hour flight.
Arik to operate three daily flights
Meanwhile, Arik Air has said that it will be operating three daily flights from Lagos to Abuja in the first phase of the aviation restart.
The airline noted that Port Harcourt will be added to the schedule from Saturday, July 11, 2020, when the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa would be reopened for operations
Arik Air Chief Executive Officer, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, in a statement on Sunday expressed optimism to take to the skies once again.
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