BusinessDay reported last week that airfares from Nigeria to other countries have seen a significant drop, following the appreciation of the naira and the competition arising from Air Peace’s commencement of flights on the Lagos-London route.
The pressure on the foreign exchange market has eased in recent weeks after the naira fell to record lows.
The large naira depreciation caused by the FX reforms that started last year had led to a steep rise in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) rate for ticket sales.
Last week, the IATA rate for ticket sales in Nigeria dropped from almost N1,800/$ a few months ago to N1,395/$.
The drop in the rate quickly saw the prices of tickets drop across several destinations.
A one-way ticket from Lagos to London on British Airways that was sold for N3 million (Economy Class) and N11 million (Business Class) cost N1.7 million and N6.8 million respectively.
On Lufthansa, the price of a one-way ticket from Lagos to London dropped from N3 million (Economy) and N9 million (Business) to N2 million and N7 million respectively.
On Virgin Atlantic, the price for Economy, Economy Premium and Business Class fell from N2 million, N5 million and N12 million to N1.5 million, N3 million and N6 million respectively.
Here are five most affordable airfares from Nigeria to London and the United States of America, which are among the most visited destinations by Nigeria.
For the Lagos-London route, Ethiopian Airlines has the cheapest fare of N838,000 for a one-way Economy Class ticket. Passengers have to connect flights on Ethiopian Airlines to London and could take almost 17 hours on the trip.
Qatar Airways charges N900,000 for a one-way Economy Class ticket from Lagos to London and will take as much as 36 hours for the flight. Air Peace, which operates direct flight for six hours on the route, charges N1 million.
Other airlines are Asky Airlines and Royal Air Maroc charging N1,049,000 and N1,054,000 respectively with 20 hours and 10 hours flight time respectively.
For Business Class ticket, Air Peace charges the cheapest (N1.9 million) for a one-way ticket on the Lagos-London route; Royal Air Maroc, N2.1 million; Qatar Airways, N2.8 million; Turkish Airways, N3.8 million; and Lufthansa, N5.2 million.
For a one-way Economy Class ticket on the Lagos-US route, Egypt Air charges the cheapest fare of N1,064,000; Kenya Airways, N1.14 million; Qatar, N1.4 million; Ethiopian Airlines, N1.5 million; and Royal Air Maroc, N1.56 million.
For Business Class tickets, Egypt Air charges the cheapest fare of N2.7 million; Kenya Airways, N4.8 million; Turkish Airlines, N5 million; Virgin Atlantic, N5 million; and United Airlines, N5.4 million.
Allen Onyema, chairman Air Peace Airlines,bsaid the airline’s commencement of Lagos-London flight has forced international airlines to reduce fares from over N4 million to N1.8 million.
He said: “This event has saved this country billions of naira in the last three weeks. It has also helped in improving the value of the naira against the dollar.
“These foreign airlines were charging exorbitant fares and had so much money in their hands. They took this money to go to the market to look for dollars, putting a strain on the naira. But now we have done this flight and people are paying what they are supposed to pay, there is less demand for dollars because fewer naira are now chasing the dollar and the naira has come down.
“So Air Peace has also contributed in bringing the naira to dollar rate down, this is also with measures put in place by Presidential Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Ndukwe Ginika Ogechi, CEO of Geena Travels And Tours Ltd, said the appreciation of the naira has immediately affected ticket prices and airlines’ exchange rate for ticket sales.
“There was a time when the IATA exchange rate for ticket sales rose to almost N1,800 to a dollar. On Monday two weeks ago, the rate came down to N1,598 to a dollar. Last week, it was N1,468. Today (Tuesday) it is N1,395. Tomorrow it may still come down. As the exchange rate is reducing, tickets will also be reducing. Travel agents are really happy about the development and we envisage that ticket prices will further reduce in the coming weeks,” Ginika said.
