Airfare hurdles await domestic travellers this festive season as local airlines have again doubled airfares on high-traffic seasonal routes.

The airfare that surged to an average of N100,000 per one-hour Economy flight ticket in October, has hit N200,000 for flights on the East and Southern routes. Its round-trip variant now sells for between N350,000 and almost half a million, subject to seat availability.

The Guardian learnt that the fresh spike is not unconnected with a high cost of operation, limited capacity, high demand that is typical of this period, and alleged exploitation.

Findings across the airlines, yesterday, showed that the average fare of N70,000 for a one-hour (one-way) flight in early October has increased to between N120,500, and N270,000, depending on the airline and time of booking.

On Air Peace, for instance, the Lagos-Anambra flight travel date, in the week ahead of Christmas, yesterday sold at N171,500 for one-way. After Christmas, it sells for an average of N66,900. Lagos-Enugu flight ranges between N123,900 and N266,800, one-way.

Lagos-Enugu flight on United Nigeria Airline (UNA) is competitive, ranging between N125,500 and N220,500 per seat. Lagos-Anambra on UNA also sold at between N142,500 and N200,000. Abuja-Anambra in United Nigeria ranged between N142,500 and N220,500.

Meanwhile, flights on the traditional routes of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano remain in the range of N100,000, and N160,000

The Guardian earlier reported that the steady free-fall of the naira value to dollar would keep registering new odd records in the air transport sector. With aviation fuel now almost N1000/litre, operators cum travel agencies are in a pricing dilemma.

Amid a hike in the exchange rate, domestic carriers have since last year seen aviation fuel steadily rise by 400 per cent (in the last three years) and the cost of operations unbearable.

Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, who also doubles as the spokesperson of the Airlines Operators of Nigeria (AON), noted that domestic airfares, for so long, did not tag along with hikes in fuel price, FX and other cost of operations, just for the affordability of the public.

Okonkwo said: We are subsidizing the cost of seats per flight. So, if you see fare increases now, please understand. They may still be higher because we are not covering the cost of operations. The little adjustment is to serve the public better. It is better to fly safe, be viable and remain in business than just flying cheap and risk collapse, Okonkwo said.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aero Contractors, Capt. Ado Sanusi, however, blamed the fares on airlines that have monopolised some of the Eastern routes, due to low capacity.

Sanusi said some airfares on some routes are exploitative, citing the South-east and South-south routes.

He proposed increased capacity and canvassed additional airlines to join the existing operators.

I believe that there are some exploitative tendencies and prices. I believe so, especially on the monopoly routes. The eastern routes are somehow monopolised and come with exploitative prices.

Its the capacity. If we have more airlines coming into the country and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) allows more airlines to fly, then it will bring the price down.

The more airlines we have flying, the more competitive it becomes and the more the prices will go down, but since we make regulations that are so hostile to start-up airlines, then, the prices will always go up.

The operators have routinely criticised the CAAs policy that mandates scheduled local carriers to have a minimum of six aircraft fleet, to ease flight delays and cancellations. (The Guardian)