INCREASED AIRFARES ARE AS A RESULT OF RISING AVIATION FUEL COSTS AND FOREX SHORTAGES.

For airlines, the high cost of aviation fuel has been a problem because of their operational expenses. It was describing how expensive aviation fuel has made finding cheap flights difficult.

The persistent increase in airfares has been ascribed to the rising price of aviation fuel and the country's lack of foreign currency.

JET A1, often known as aviation fuel, is now sold for between N790 and N800 per litre. Flights on CRJ and Embraer cost between N970,000 and N1.04 million, according to airline operators.

The lack of foreign currency made it challenging for airlines to buy replacement parts for their fleets.

For FX, they must rely on the gray market. On Thursday, a dollar was exchanged for N749 as opposed to N463.50 at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

As a result, airlines increase their rates to cover increased operational costs.

Notwithstanding the difficulties the airlines were facing, Chris Aligbe, the Chief Executive Officer of aviation consultant firm Belujane Konzult, highlighted that a cheap flight will still be possible.

He claimed that there were no way airlines could earn money by imposing fees that would just be enough to keep them afloat in the face of the growing cost of jet fuel and the dearth of foreign exchange.

Aligbe stated, Our airlines cannot provide affordable

They are not low-fare carriers, and low-fare scenarios do not fit their business goals. Low-cost carriers have models and tactics. In addition to many other factors, it even contains the kind of airplanes utilized. Existing carriers' business strategies do not prioritize affordable fares. They are unable to be low-cost carriers.

That won't benefit them. Low fares were not part of their original business plan. They are unable to operate low fares with their equipment. That cannot be sustained. Low fare carriers' business plans are created from scratch.

Your plan begins once you decide what kind of business you want to run and decide to enter the aviation industry. The business plan must take the varied aircraft into account, as well as the target market and scheduling.

He claims that hand luggage cannot be transported on low-cost airlines. You must pay for any additional items you carry, and Nigerians are not accustomed to this. This is not ready for the Nigerian market.

The average person has no idea what a low-fare carrier is. You must be able to finish what you began, and everyone should be aware of it. Your business plan needs to take schedule and the kind of plane you buy. Osita Okonkwo, Chief Operating Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, explained that after deducting the cost of fuel and fees, agencies like the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigerian Airspace Management, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, what was left was too small to sustain their operations. He was speaking to the media on the occasion of the airline's second anniversary.

He continued by saying that among the problems the operators were having were the lack of foreign currency and the high cost of aircraft maintenance. He claimed that if the government provided financial assistance to airlines, it would not be out of place.

The government must get involved in Nigeria's air transportation industry, the United States and the United Kingdom have done this. That is not an excessive amount to ask. They have intervened in a few businesses and provided foreign currency to a few others. Including airlines in that would be a smart move.

According to him, as of December 2021, they were purchasing petrol for N350 per litre, then it abruptly increased to N500 per litre. Nigerian airline operators complained about this, too.

He claims that the going rate for aviation fuel is between N790 and N800 per litre.

He emphasized that the nation did not create airplane parts and that 9 out of 10 inputs into an aircraft were made up of foreign currency.

“Therefore, you need FX,” he continued. Our access to foreign currency, as well as its availability and cost, put us in danger twice. If you are not fortunate enough to obtain a dollar from the Central Bank of Nigeria, it has increased from approximately N400 plus to N900 at a time.