Passengers as airlines’ transactional burden

The observation that some airlines exhibit “appalling service delivery” amidst a period like Customer Service Week highlights a significant disconnect between the industry’s rhetoric and its reality, especially for the budget and mid-tier sectors where cost-cutting can override customer care, writes WOLE SHADARE

Every year, business owners celebrate ‘Customer Service Week’, a week set aside by them to appraise service delivery to their customers.

 Not many customers feel the essence of the celebration’s impact because, in most cases, just like in the airline business, customers have not been treated well.

 

Growing reputation

Despite the great job done by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in the area of consumer protection, customers are still left at a disadvantage as a few carriers, especially Air Peace, seem not to be bothered about maintaining a good reputation in terms of service delivery to their passengers.

On International Customer Week, passengers on Air Peace said, “I am extremely disappointed with the multiple delays on our Air Peace flight today. The original departure time was 7:45 PM, but I received an email changing it to 8:25 PM, and then another update at 9:00 PM pushing it to 11:30 PM. What’s frustrating is that no snacks or water were provided despite the significant delays. This level of service falls short of expectations.”

Yearly ritual

Poor customer service in Nigeria is a persistent issue driven by factors like corruption, infrastructure decay, and a lack of employee training and motivation.

This problem not only harms businesses by driving customers away but also negatively impacts the country’s economic growth.

While a 2024 report showed some marginal improvement in overall customer satisfaction, specific sectors like e-commerce, aviation (Airline), power, and real estate still rank low.

 Inadequate training and poor performance appraisal systems lead to a lack of skills and motivation among employees.

Some employees feel entitled to power, treating customers with a sense of ownership rather than service.

Effects on businesses

Businesses can be killed by poor customer service, as seen in sectors like hospitality, banking, and airlines, which leads to customers seeking alternatives.

Based on common complaints and industry analysis, the key features of this poor service delivery often include indiscriminate flight delays and cancellations. This is a major source of frustration. Flights are often delayed or cancelled with little notice, sometimes due to maintenance issues, staff shortages, or a lack of proper disruption management.

Passengers often receive inconsistent, late, or completely absent updates regarding delays, cancellations, or gate changes, leaving them stranded and confused.

Customers have had frequent issues with lost, damaged, or significantly delayed luggage, which causes major inconvenience and stress.

Most times, frontline staff, gate agents, cabin crew and check-in staff show a lack of empathy, impatience, or outright rudeness, which are frequently reported issues, especially when a passenger is stressed due to a disruption.

Airlines may make it difficult for passengers to lodge a complaint, seek compensation, or get a refund, often failing to respond within reasonable timeframes or referring them to convoluted third-party resolution schemes.

Reduced capacity

Many of the country’s airlines are said to be in operation with less than 50 per cent of their fleet. In summary, they operate less of the equipment at their disposal and find it extremely difficult to maintain the same flight schedules because of the dearth of airplanes.

While smart ones amongst them have shrunk their operations as a result of their depleting fleet, some others try to pull the wool over their passengers by pretending that they have the capacity to still continue with their original schedule. Something must give in.

What is happening now is that they extend their departure time on a particular route because they expect airplane for that route to do other services; the reason an airline would delay passengers for as much as five to six hours without apology or offering refreshments as demanded by law.

In the past, some less busy airports used to receive four flights a day, but now it has reduced to one. The load factor has been good in the past, but not anymore because of the shortage of aircraft by the operators.

Trust erosion

One of the most egregious aspects of poor airline service delivery in Nigeria is the almost total lack of compensation and accountability.

Unlike in many other countries, Nigerian airlines rarely offer adequate restitution for delays and cancellations and show bad manners.

This lack of accountability erodes trust in the aviation sector and discourages travel, further impacting the economy. Passengers feel powerless and disrespected when their grievances are ignored, leading to a pervasive sense of injustice.

 There are many instances where passengers have been delayed for more than eight hours. For instance, passengers on flights delayed for over 12 hours received no compensation or even a proper explanation. Such incidents are not isolated but rather symptomatic of a broader systemic failure within Nigeria’s aviation industry.

Experts who spoke to Aviation Metric believe that the persistent issue of poor service delivery by airlines points to significant regulatory and policy failures of many years.

To them, the NCAA, responsible for overseeing airline operations, has been largely ineffective in holding airlines accountable for their actions for a very long time, which they said has emboldened them to offer shambolic services to the chagrin of passengers and others who have followed the trend in the sector for a long time.

Stricter regulatory enforcement

There is a clear need for stricter enforcement of existing regulations and the introduction of more stringent policies to protect passengers’ rights.

Addressing this is to first of all strengthen regulatory oversight. The NCAA must enforce existing regulations rigorously and introduce new policies to protect passengers. This includes imposing hefty fines on airlines for delays and cancellations without just cause and mandating compensation for affected passengers.

Other examples

In contrast, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Saudi Arabia, issued 542 fines totalling SR18.8 million ($5 million) in 2024 for violations of civil aviation law, its regulations, and authority instructions, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The report detailed 111 violations by airlines for failing to adhere to instructions, including the advance passenger information system and time-slot compliance, resulting in fines of SR3.65 million. Nine other violations incurred fines of SR290,000.

Additionally, 305 violations related to passenger rights protection led to fines exceeding SR14.4 million. Licensed companies faced 17 violations for non-compliance with civil aviation regulations, amounting to fines of SR175,000.

The poor service delivery by Nigerian airlines, especially the indiscriminate rescheduling of flights, has dire consequences for the economy and passengers’ well-being. Regulatory bodies must step up their oversight and ensure that passengers are educated about their rights, and airlines improve their operational practices.

Last line

In summary, the “appalling service” generally stems from systemic operational inefficiencies (delays, cancellations) coupled with a lack of investment in genuine customer-facing service (rudeness, unresponsiveness, difficult complaint resolution). This creates a situation where, despite the industry celebrating customer service, many passengers feel treated as a transactional burden rather than a valued client.

Google+