Air travellers to domestic destinations are lamenting that the cost of flight ticket has risen astronomically, especially to Eastern destinations, as one-way ticket now cost about N350, 000 and return ticket costing about N700, 000.

Domestic air travellers perceived that the sudden hike in air tick is not unconnected to the Christmas season that is gradually approaching.

Nigerians who wished to buy tickets to travel home during the Christmas holidays have accused Nigerian airlines, especially United Nigeria Airlines and Air Peace of hiking ticket prices to Eastern destinations such as Port Harcourt, Calabar, Enugu, Owerri, Asaba, Warri, Benin, Umueri (Anambra).

They complained that at the end of every year, fares to Eastern destinations are usually higher than fares to Northern and Western destinations.

But officials of United Nigeria Airlines and Air Peace dismissed reports said they have fixed fares for the Christmas season and attributed the high fares to rush, saying that passengers may have started booking for tickets immediately they opened their inventory for the December-January winter season.

The airline officials disclosed that the fares may drop if after those who booked for the tickets did not make payment before the expiration of the booking window.

Spokesman of United Nigeria Airways, Chibuike Eloka, told THISDAY in a telephone interview in Lagos that airlines sell ticket in classes according to the demand for seats, disclosing that the lowest ticket could be between N90,000 ?N135,000, ?but it seemed that passengers were picking tickets that were convenient to them and the prices were moving from one class of ticket to the next. United Nigeria Airlines said that even during the current off season, fares can be as high as N300,000 for one way ticket; for example, if a traveller books Lagos to Abuja ticket under 24 hours.?

?Maybe, a lot of bookings have happened that the economy class has gone up to premium economy, but our opening tickets starts from N90,000 to N135,000; so, the higher the demand, the higher the class. Even during non-peak periods at normal days, tickets can go up to N300,000. So, this is not because it is Christmas season. It is not as if the airline fixed fare at specific price for that season. No. that is wrong information,? Eloka said.

Speaking in the same vein, the image maker of Air Peace, Efe Osifo-Whiskey, told THISDAY that fares are not fixed; ?they rise according to demand, noting that there is no need comparing Air Peace with other airlines because Air Peace could be selling more at the moment and the prices may rise but another airline may have a burst of demand tomorrow and the prices may rise more than that of Air Peace.?

?Fares are no fixed. It rises according to demand. People book tickets from across the world. It may be early booking that may have taken up the fares because people are rushing to buy tickets early enough. There is multicity booking because people are booking from London and other cities across the world for the Eastern destinations,? Osifo-Whiskey said.

On his part, President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Yinka Folami, said that high cost of ticket to Eastern destinations during the Christmas season has been a trend over the years.

Folami compared the high fares on domestic destinations during the Christmas holidays to summer time on international travel, noting that fares are expected to rise during summer because there is high demand of tickets.

?I am not fully aware that airfares have gone up. But that has been the trend over the years. It is a question of demand and supply. It is a high season. It is like summer travel to the UK; you expect the fares to rise during summer,? he said.

Reacting to the increase in airfares during Christmas holidays in Nigeria, industry analyst and managing Director of Flights and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan, observed that every trade has its high and low season, especially in the services sector, noting that for international airlines operating intercontinental flights, it is the summer season that brings them highest yield in demand for seats and high bids for fares per seat.

?Demands for seats are higher during these seasons. When demand for a product is higher than supply, the price for that product increases, but the quality of service must match the price. During low season, airlines have to operate their scheduled flights with plenty of empty seats while their cost of operations remained fixed. So, they raise prices during these peak seasons to make up for their losses during the low season. This does not excuse the sharp practices of bad and fake agents who book and pay for seats very early in the year and resell them at prices far higher than the airlines? published fare for the peak season.

?We recommend intending travellers should plan their year?s programme such that they buy tickets for trips month?s earlier to beat the high season fare. Ticket price for a December trip to the South East cities of Nigeria will be lower if bought in February/March than if bought from August to November. Same Plan should be used for Easter period trips. The demand for seats on flights to Kano and Sokoto would not be lower during Christmas and Easter season, but would be high during the Sallah festivities. The solution is planning and buying in advance before the high season sets in,? Akpan said.

However, the Managing Director of Travel Lab Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Shalom Asuquo, remarked that ticket pricing is dynamic and fluctuates; adding that there is the issue of volatility that goes with the market, recalling that about two years ago airlines lost huge revenue during the Christmas season when there was fluctuation in the exchange rate and the value of the naira. (THISDAY)

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