Prior to moving here trips to Lagos were planned and sorted out by my parents, the visits were a family affair so apart from the odd internet search I was blissfully out of the loop. Not anymore.
Booking a flight should be a simple, uncomplicated procedure, what’s the big deal right? Well, if you’re like me, and you don’t have the odd £1,000 lying around every few months, then it’s a very big deal.
Tickets from Lagos to London are eye wateringly expensive, more so at peak times like late summer and Christmas. But the question is, why? It’s not as if London is that far, 6 and a half hours on a direct flight, so why are tickets exponentially more expensive than neighbouring countries? Vanguard newspaper conducted an investigation last year that revealed Nigerians traveling first class on British Airways from Abuja to London Heathrow Airport were paying $9,458.25 whereas the same ticket from Ghana to London Heathrow costs $4,970.55. The difference in flight time is around 15 minutes, so why is a ticket from Nigeria almost $4, 500 more expensive?
It’s not as though there aren’t enough carriers that fly that route, B.A, Virgin & Arik go directly, Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, Emirates to name a few fly indirectly. Now, I’m not well versed in economics but I was of the opinion that competition drives the price down…so why are indirect flights in economy class still selling for £700 upwards?
In 2012 the Federal Government launched an investigation into why British carriers Virgin and B.A charge so much and threatened to ban them from the country. Carriers argued that the prices were fair and a result of multiple taxes, high operation costs and poor infrastructure.
All of these may be true, but there is one undeniable fact. The reasons the rates remain high is because Nigerians are willing to pay them. I’m sure there have been complaints to the government, to the carriers themselves, ( I recently heard a woman complaining to an airline representative she’d spent £1,000 on an economy class ticket), but in a nonchalant way.
Nigerians are known for letting things slide in almost every area of life, be it electricity, poverty, corruption, the status quo is to complain but to carry on. Direct action seems to be regarded as ineffective therefore pointless.
So the fact of the matter is unless real pressure is applied to the government and the carriers, to have the rates justified or people boycott the airlines and stop flying, it’s unlikely the prices will change.
Come fly with us indeed.