With the spike in ticket bookings for summer vacations by their Nigerian passengers, some foreign airlines are returning to juicy business and may be considering additional frequencies, in order to meet growing demand.
Some airlines are witnessing an over 20 percent rise in bookings, especially for new and cheaper destinations, and others are seeing almost double the number of passengers who booked for same destinations last summer.
Comparing passenger traffic in May 2016 and 2017, which is when most bookings for summer are confirmed, the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) recorded stability and growth in the volume of passengers. While about 223,531 passengers travelled on outbound destinations in May 2016, 243,994 went for the same purpose in May 2017.
Top among the destinations booked for summer include; London, Paris, Dubai, New York, Atlanta, the Caribbean Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago, while African destinations such as Seychelles and Mauritius are beginning to fight for a share of the Nigerian holiday market with the likes of South Africa and Kenya.
Expectedly, British Airways is among the top gainers of the impressive bookings, as London tops summer holiday destinations for most Nigerians in the UK and Europe.
Kola Olayinka, country manager, British Airways, attributed the positive development to the fact that Nigeria is seeing better times now, as airfares are stable, compared to this time last year, when foreign airlines could not repatriate their funds. Some airlines left, discouraged by the very unstable foreign exchange regime, which resulted in higher fares and fewer bookings for summer last year.
“People still travel reasonably and there is need for it. Some people travel for leisure, some for business, and some for studies. The flights are doing very well”, Olayinka said.
Emirates Airlines is witnessing impressive bookings for summer holidays by Nigerians and many Asian expatriates in Nigeria, especially with the face-off between Qatar and some Arab countries, which is limiting choice of airlines to the Middle East to the Emirati carriers.
The airline is riding the crest of the cheaper United Arab Emirates destinations, especially Dubai, when compared to the more expensive European, American and Caribbean destinations.
Operating from its four destinations in Nigeria, Ethiopian Airlines is handling of a good percentage of outbound summer bookings from Nigeria this summer, through its Addis Ababa hub.
The airline, which is the biggest carrier in Africa, is also using its cheap flights, easy global connectivity and Pan African focus, to woo more Nigerians and other Africans to patronise its services this summer.
However, Nigerian travel agencies who were at risk of winding up this time last year, are now seeing improvements, as bookings for outbound travel has surpassed the records for last year.
In line with this, NANTA president, Efetobo Awhana, managing director, Avantgarde Tours, who has also recorded an impressive increase in summer bookings, attributed the increasing outbound bookings for summer holidays, to stable naira/dollar rates, settlement of the feud over debt owned airlines and the subsequent stability in the airfares across board, as well as the recent improvement in the economy, unlike this time last year, when the economy was deep into recession.
“This year is better than last year, the dollar is more stable, rates are much lower, airlines are fully back to business, as no one is talking of leaving Nigeria, unlike this time last year, when a few left. So, Nigerians are back in the air”, Awhana said.
Awhana further noted that over 80 percent of his summer bookings so far, are to destinations that are offering visa on arrival, particularly Dubai. Attributing the development to cheaper fares, Solomon Omokhari, an intending summer holiday seeker to London, noted that this time last year, the cost of a return ticket to London, was between N700, 000 to N1 million. Today, it has gone below N500, 000.
However, most travel agencies still look forward to late bookings, as Nigerian summer holiday seekers still book till late August.
OBINNA EMELIKE AND IFEOMA OKEKE
