American airline shrinks market share for Nigerian carriers

….May reap $200m from New-York-Lagos route annually

….Masterstroke against indigenous firm- Experts

 The consolidation of Delta Air on the Nigerian market could further spell doom for the nation’s carriers as no Nigerian airlines for now reciprocates the aviation pact to the US.

Experts who spoke to Woleshadare.net said it was a masterstroke by the airline against its Nigerian counterparts to wrestle the market from them.

Former President, Aviation Round Table (ART), Capt. Dele Ore said it would take miracle for any Nigerian carrier to compete with mega carriers from any parts of the world, stressing that before now, the country’s airlines designated on US, London route found it extremely difficult to do so on those lucrative routes.

He disclosed that while the country’s airlines floundered, foreign airlines flourished, greatly leading to more capital flight for the country as the country retained less than six per cent of the burgeoning market.

An airline chief lamented that Nigerian carriers are at the receiving end as the US firm tends to reap in excess of $200 million because of how strategic New York is to many Nigerians and many businesses around the globe.

Just last week, the America airline began direct New York-Lagos route, aside the Atlanta-Lagos route it started with over ten years ago.

The airline may have taken advantage of the stoppage of New York by Arik Air to New York as the Nigerian carrier abruptly stopped the lucrative route.

Nigeria and the US in 2000 signed the ‘Open Skies’ pact when former President Bill Clinton came to Nigeria with President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The New York-JFK route complements the airline’s existing flight to Atlanta, providing a daily departure and more travel choice to the U.S. than ever before.

Many had criticised the pact saying that the country entered the agreement when her carriers were not ready and non-existent.

It took many years before Arik Air after it was established to venture into the route, giving competition to Delta and later, United.

United, however pulled out of the country in 2016, citing recession and trapped funds that ran into over $500 million owed several airlines at that period. The government has however released all the monies owed the airlines.

With the development, Delta now operates two non-stop flights to Lagos from New York and Atlanta

Cumulatively, international airlines sold tickets worth $1.4 billion to Nigerian travellers in 2017 despite the economic recession that impacted negatively on individual income during the period.

The revenue generated by these airlines was evidence that Nigeria’s economy was on a rebound, as foreign airlines that cut back their operations and those that reduced their frequencies due to low passenger traffic occasioned by the recession then are now increasing their capacity.

During the recession, Iberia and United Airlines stopped their operations in Nigeria and those foreign carriers still operating serviced the Nigerian destinations with smaller aircraft. Emirates, which hitherto operated three frequencies daily reduced its flights to one daily but it has now restored its operations of a daily flight to Abuja and two flights to Lagos from Dubai, its operational hub.

There are indications that the New York-Nigeria route would sell better than Delta’s Atlanta-Lagos route because of the economic importance of New York to Nigeria in a few months’ time.

 Arik Air operated Lagos-New York route for over five years but exited the route following crisis that rocked the carrier last year, leading to take-over of the firm by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over N500b indebtedness of the airline to it.

At a press briefing last week Wednesday, Delta’s senior vice president – Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, Corneel Koster said, “With the U.S. the largest foreign investor in Nigeria, this new route underscores our commitment to the market by facilitating trade and commerce between our nations,”

“We’re proud of Delta’s 10-year history in Nigeria and that we are the only airline to offer daily nonstop flights, bringing benefits to Nigerian business travellers while also providing more opportunities to reunite with families and friends across the United States”, he added.

Wole Shadare