Air ticket: Black market flourishes, airlines struggle

All over the world, airlines are positioned to be at the mercy of middlemen, black marketers, service providers and others who eke a living out of them. WOLE SHADARE writes

 

Middlemen play an important role in every aspects of marketing, as they act as a bridge between the producers and consumers. However there are still some areas where the services of middlemen need a second thought.

 

Dire straits

Airlines are wonderful generators of profit—for everyone except themselves. Even in good times their margins are as thin as a boarding pass, and in recent years they have more often lost money.

Averaged over the past four decades, the net profit margin of the world’s airlines, taken together, has been a measly 0.1 per cent. By contrast, other bits of the travel business that depend on the airlines—such as aircraft-makers, travel agents, airports, caterers and maintenance firms—have done very nicely.

In many parts of the world, airlines are gradually phasing out middlemen by developing their apps where their customers can purchase their tickets at relatively cheaper prices.

Unlike in Nigeria where travel plans are made very late, in other climes, travellers plan their trips ahead of time. This helps to get competitive fares.

 

Huge market

One noticeable development in the Nigerian aviation industry is the rise of ‘black market’. This is fast turning into a huge market for unsuspecting travellers especially at domestic airports across the country, especially the busiest airports in the country.

They operate all year round but they are more noticeable during festive period, especially Christmas season. This group of people buy tickets from airlines at very good prices but sell to desperate passengers at almost twice the price bought on the ‘floor’

Some who did not deal directly with the airlines will blame carriers for the high cost not knowing that they bought tickets from the ‘black market’.

Expert’s opinion

Accountable Manager of Dana Airlines, Obi Mbanuzo stated that what many air travellers need to know is that in aviation, the best way to get cheap fares is by booking ahead of time or planning a trip early enough.

This is the reason he said sound airlines would continue to encourage their passengers to book earlier, as that is the only panacea to avoiding late hour rush, especially during peak periods, festivities and holidays.

His words, “About two weeks to the last Easter celebrations, the airport was a beehive of activities, as passengers were travelling in droves to spend the holiday with their families at various destinations while the guys in the ‘floor’ were also having a field day buying tickets at a lower fare and selling at a higher rate to unsuspecting passengers.

“It doesn’t matter to some passengers as all they wanted was get on the plane no matter the cost. We believe that air travel should be for all. No matter the period of time, we try as much as possible to keep our fares as competitive as possible”.

 

Racketeering

It has been observed that during these peak periods such as festive periods or situations leading to fewer airlines plying popular routes, middlemen resort to black-marketing and hoarding thereby create an artificial demand for the product. This leads to price rise. Here again it is only the consumer who suffers.

These middlemen are mostly touts who take advantage of the system to serve middlemen. In reality they are many things rolled into one. The lack of check on activities of these people has fuelled black market ticket purchase with many of them acting as middlemen.

Some of these touts are working with the airline’s staff to hoard tickets and jack up airfares, especially during the festival periods. From the domestic and international airports across the country, the situation is similar in terms of the operation tactic. These people can move freely within the airport, in most of cases, they are ignored by  the security operatives attached to these airports for a reason best known to them.

Touting has become prevalent in and around the terminal building of the domestic and international wings of the airport, with many touts seen in the uniforms of some airlines. The touts often accost passengers offering to purchase tickets for them at a fee.

 

Conspiracy

Some passengers alleged that some touts conspire with airline staff to extort money from them.

“In most cases, the touts will inform you that flights are fully booked whereas it is a ploy to rip you off, said a Port Harcourt-bound passenger, Akpan Ume at the weekend.

Another passenger, Ayeni John, claimed he was made to pay N2,000 to a tout to enable him buy a flight ticket of N18,000.

“I got to the General Aviation Terminal to catch a flight to Abuja, but was told at one of the counters that the flight was fully booked,” the passenger said.

“As I was leaving the counter, a young man accosted me, claiming to be working for one of the airlines and that he will assist to get a seat, only if I will pay the extra amount, which I obliged.

“But surprisingly, few minutes later he returned with a ticket from the same counter where I was told the flight was fully booked”.

Gloria Okorie, an Enugu-bound passenger, said there was touting at the Abuja airport, pointing out that many passengers had lost their baggage to touts helping them to check in.

A tout, who gave his name as Abby, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he usually bought tickets at the normal fare behind counters and share the profit with ticketing officers.

Chief Operating Officer, MMA 2, Mr. Jerome Marinho, said that some of those classified as touts were usually seen with on duty cards issued by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

“We held series of meetings with the airlines and other stakeholders operating within the terminal building on the activities of touts around the airport, Marinho said.

He disclosed that members of staff of airlines whose operations had been grounded were often seen with airlines identity cards attending to passengers.

 

Last line

The black market for tickets has been spurred by a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which airport authorities and airlines have cultivated when it comes to boarding on domestic flights.

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