The foreign airlines said the price reduction resulted from their engagement with the Federal Government on the need to lower ticket inventory.
Dr Kingsley Nwokoma, President of the Association of Foreign Airlines' Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN) has discredited the claim that Air Peace was responsible for the price crash on the Lagos-London route.
The indigenous airline commenced operations on the Lagos-London route on Saturday, March 30, 2024, when its luxury Boeing 777 aircraft, which took off at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, touched down at Gatwick Airport in London.
Before that time, Nigerians had been forced to pay through their noses on the route as confirmed by Air Peace owner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Allen Onyema.
According to Onyema, travellers were made to cough out as much as ₦17m for a Business Class return ticket on the route at some point.
However, Air Peace's entry immediately crashed the fares with a one-way ticket coming down to as low as $600 (₦738,000 at ₦1,230/$) from the initial price of over $2000.
But, Nwokoma said the indigenous airline should not be credited for the declining prices of international airfares as widely believed, per Daily Trust.
He explained that the price reduction resulted from their engagement with the federal government on the need to lower ticket inventory following partial payment of trapped funds coupled with a reduction in the exchange rate.
Nwokoma stressed that Air Peace's entry was a mere coincidence, adding that foreign airlines are not fazed by the competition it presents.
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He stated that air fares would continue to reduce, as long as the foreign exchange rate market becomes more stable.
“It is a good thing that Air Peace is in the route and we also want more Nigerian airlines to come in also as flag carriers, the more the merrier.
“But apparently the fares going down wasn’t basically because Air Peace came on board. Before IATA and airlines have been meeting with the government and parts of the trapped funds have been cleared. So, it is logical for the airlines to release the lower fares. If there is coincidence, and people want to read the meaning into it, no problem but the more the merrier,” Nwokoma said.
