Yesterday, the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) called for the extension of the probe of the Air Peace Airline infraction to other airlines by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The FCCPC is investigating the airline over alleged exploitative ticket pricing and violation of consumer rights.
The commission headed by Mr. Tunji Bello, journalist and lawyer, warned Air Peace against obstructing the inquiry.
According to the NANTA, the inquiry should be extended to other domestic and international carriers to make it total.
NANTA President Yinka Folami, said the state of service and pricing of domestic travel operations in Nigeria fell short of the required standards.
The umbrella body said it will continue to pursue advocacy in the downstream aviation sector and focus on equitable market practices, policies and protection of consumers.
It said the FCCPC has the capacity to consult for sector-expert opinions in similar consumer commissions and boards with arbitration on sector-specific issues.
NANTA said in a statement in Lagos: “We support inquiry into the arbitrary pricing structure of airfares in our market both domestic and international.
“ There is an increasing imbalance between taxes and basic fares, particularly YQ taxes fuel surcharge/emergency taxes, which need to be explicit in the interest of fairness to the Nigerian traveler and market. We offer our knowledge and expertise in the inquiry into significant delays, cancellations, and poor customer care to the Nigerian traveler, and inquiry into Cross-Border Trading, which is price discriminatory to our market, circumventing, and extractive to our national economy.”
It added: “ Our local airline players refer to the global pricing structure only when it is convenient. For example, our experience with global pricing is that you can purchase in advance.
“What happens in our domestic routes pricing/publication is that you cannot purchase three months in advance.
“Since September 2024, it has been practically impossible to purchase December 2024 tickets on lower classes/fares. Initially, fares were not displayed in advance, which is contrary to global practice. When they were displayed, all lower classes, particularly to a particular region in Nigeria, were frozen.
“All you can buy is just one class , the highest price class. This, in our view, is arbitrary and validates the FCCPC’s suspicion of discriminatory pricing. It also runs in conflict with our professional teachings that airline pricing is predominantly determined by flown mileage.
“We, at NANTA, are experienced enough to understand that aviation should not be presented to Nigeria as philanthropy. Aviation is the backbone of connectivity and must be driven by strong corporate governance, respect for consumer rights, and respect for government structures that are created by Act to protect consumers”
