By Chinelo Obogo
Domestic airlines recorded a spike in ticket sales at the weekend as muslim faithful celebrated the Eid-el-Kabir on Saturday, July 9.
This development comes after airlines experienced a slump in traffic in the first quarter of 2022 ending the 2021 Christmas festive period boost.
President, National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) Mrs. Susan Akporiaye, attributed the slump in the first quarter of the year to the decision by domestic airlines to increase flight tickets to a minimum of N50,000 on all routes across the country.
She told Daily Sun that generally, ticket sales have not sold as much as it would have been this year compared to previous years due to the high cost of fare as individuals traveled very frequently but that it is no longer the case.
“We don’t have much sales like we used to have in the past. The ticket sales for local travel has actually dropped because of the high cost. So now, we are not seeing much difference because it is only them that are traveling. You know, in the past, individuals who go about their business also travel and those coming from Dubai for instance also travel. But now individual’s traveling has reduced drastically, so there is enough room for those traveling for the primaries.
“Flight to Abuja and back is N100, 000, so what you are going for has to really be very important before you can travel. If for instance, you used to travel to Abuja for events like wedding, these days, you would say it is better to give the couple the N100, 000 instead of travelling,” she said.
An insider in Dana Air confirmed that before the Sallah holiday which falls on Monday 11 and Tuesday, July 12, many of their passengers had already booked about one to two weeks ahead of due to the cost of flight tickets.
“We experienced a spike in sales about two weeks ago which is due to the fact that many of our passengers were booking ahead of time so that they can get the ticket at below N50, 000.
We didn’t observe any spike on Thursday and Friday and I believe its because of the cost. Those who bought tickets a day ahead of Saturday bought at about N70, 000 for economy,” the insider said.
A source in Arik Air confirmed to Daily Sun that the airline experienced up to 50 percent spike in over-the-counter tickets sales, making the bumper sales the best the airline has had since the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) takeover.
“Our sales during this Sallah break was really impressive. We had about 50 percent increase on over-the-counter ticket sales and we have not had such sales since Arik went into receivership with AMCON. Most of the tickets were sold at between N50, 000 and N60, 000, depending on where you are flying to. We even sold for as high as N90, 000 for economy tickets for those who booked to fly on the same day. So, sales was really good for the period, the source told Daily Sun.