New airlines may force seat glut, low fares

Plans by three domestic airlines to start operations second quarter of this year may change the travel dynamics in the country’s aviation industry and may have expand choices of air travellers.

The airlines that have signified their interest to begin for which they have gotten to an advanced stage of Air Operator Certificates (AOC) are United Nigeria Airlines, Green Africa Airways and Value Jet.

Cumulatively, scheduled airlines in Nigeria, which currently have little over 40 aircraft, could now have over a hundred planes by the time these new airlines come into service.

Aerokeys just completed the United Nigeria Airline’s crew training and they will be starting operations with Embrear 145 50-seater regional jet and they intend starting with five aircraft.

The airline is said to be owned by the CEO of The Dome Entertainment Limited Abuja, Dr. Obiorah Okonkwo. There are indications that the airline would start operations in April 2020.

Just last week, Nigerian startup airline, Green Africa Airways ordered 50 A220s jets from Airbus worth $4.08b. This has been described as the largest aircraft purchase by an African airline.

The deal was close to being finalised. Green Africa Airline hopes to begin commercial operations in Nigeria soon.

It will compete with the likes of Dana and Air Peace, Arik that have dominated the Nigerian aviation market in the last few years.

However, experts have expressed concerned over the situation, stressing that it would lead to glut of seats in a market that has just about ten million passengers.

This is a clear departure from the past when few airlines were on the scene that made travel choices very difficult.

Consequently, the situation contributed to hike in fares, especially on the lucrative triangle Lagos- Abuja-Port-Harcourt route.

But now, the situation would readily provide for stiff competition for airline that is expected to force down fares.

With a glut on the route, this could engender competition and help to force down fares. Competition is a natural result of many players in an industry. However, as profit oriented actors, airlines will not venture into an industry where there is low propensity to fly.

The lack of airline competition and the absence of regional airport hubs are some of the constraints identified in Africa’s aviation.

Fare increase, according to an expert, is subject to many variables, which include high cost of aviation fuel, otherwise known as Jet A1 and high taxes by different aviation agencies, among others.

For those in operation, insufficient aircraft has further compounded the situation; most of the reasons for delays passengers go through at the airports.

A former Assistant Secretary-General of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Alhaji Mohammed Tukur said amid amid the gloom, there are still start-ups.

He stated that the West African nation of Nigeria has had a number of start- up –and failures, Green Africa, United Nigeria Airways and few others seem to have bold vision.

His words: “It remains to be seen how these new airlines cope in a tough airline environment considering the low number of flying public. Not a few had suggested and raised concern that with Nigeria’s relatively low numbers for the flying public, it may quickly  descend into a dog fight with no winners.

He disclosed that two years ago, the sector was on a edge, stressing that the voluntary suspension of Medview’s Air’s operations coupled with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)-induced suspension of FirstNation Airways changed the travel narratives in the country’s aviation industry and limited choices of air travellers.

While Medview is not yet back to service, FirstNation is also hasn’t shown it wants to bounce back yet.

Consequently, the situation contributed to hike in fares, especially on the lucrative triangle Lagos- Abuja-Port-Harcourt route.

For those in operation, insufficient aircraft further compounded the situation; most of the reasons for delays passengers went through at the airports.

Wole Shadare