By
Willie Amadi
Air Peace started direct flights from Lagos to London on March 30, pegging its price for a round-trip economy ticket at N1.2 million on a route that foreign airlines used to charge as much as N3 million.
This prompted the foreign airlines to cut their airfares to an average of N1.4 million for a round-trip economy ticket last week. But checks yesterday showed that some foreign airlines have further slashed their prices to an average of N841,732.
Checks by THISDAY showed that prices by most of the flights have dropped significantly.
For instance, Egyptair has dropped its Lagos-London economy ticket price further to ($470) N585,620; Air Peace London to Lagos now goes for ($655) N816, 130; British Airways goes for ($787.99) N981, 848; Virgin Atlantic ($927.99) N1.1 million and Royal Air Moroc ($456.99) N569,422.
Also, RwandAir has pegged its airfare to London at ($545.35) N679,070; Ethiopian Air ($543.84) -N677, 824; Turkish Airlines ($647.84) – N807, 408; Air France London ($915.99) -N1.1 million, while KLM pegged its price to ($927.84) – N1.1 million.
Nigerians and all men of goodwill should patronise Air Peace Airline for being a Messiah and protector of the abused, misused and exploited international passengers by foreign airlines.
The sustained resilience and patriotism exhibited by the Chairman of Airpeace Airlines Barr. Allen Onyema in recent times is the real test of selfless leadership and service to one’s fatherland.
The President of Nigeria, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu is respectfully invited to protect, encourage and show gratitude to this great son of Nigeria for all he is doing for Nigeria and fellow Nigeria’s including but not limited to airlifting home stranded Nigerians whenever and wherever there is crisis in the world free of charge and at personal cost. The recent magical breaking the jinx of manipulated high airfare exploitation by heartless foreign nationals carriers and their home governments.
The fight against and frustrations of ground operations of Air Peace Airlines at various foreign country’s airports will increase in the weeks ahead and the Nigerian government through the Ministries of Aviation, Foreign Affairs and Trade & Industry must immediately ensure that Air Peace Airline is adequately protected enough with a reprisals forthwith.
Regrettably and unfortunately at home is the evil connivance of some corrupt and incompetent staff of our Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria with some foreign Airlines who deliberately keep scheming and frustrating the ground operational process of Air Peace Airline so as to put them on coalition with their passengers, create bad blood and discourage them from patronising one of our own, Air Peace Airline. These Nigerian officials deserves capital punishment. They are worst than known economic saboteurs and should be guests of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Nevertheless, it is heartwarming and a thing of great joy that a Nigerian Airline is religiously dictating the reasonable cost of airfare for International flights through its patriotic and empathetic decision of the 30th of March inaugural flight to London.
God is with Air Peace Airline and Nigeria !!!
WILLIE AMADI, A LAWYER AND ENVIRONMENTALIST WRITES FROM OWERRI.
