TheCable

Hadiza Gana, a customer of British Airways, has launched a petition against the airline over the “drastic increase” in the fare from London to Nigeria.

In the petition, Gana said the airline gave no explanation for the increase in the fare, wondering why a flight from Abuja to London had been increased by “over 200%” in the last two years.

“British Airways has excessively increased their prices on the Nigeria-London route,” the petition read.

“As a silver member of the British Airways club and as a frequent flyer on BA their decision to increase fares drastically with no explanation is unfair to their customers.

“We all know how forex rates have changed in Nigeria as a pound is now twice what it was two years ago. BA has correlated their price with this rise in forex and ridiculously increased the flight fare. A flight from Abuja to London used to go for approximately £1000 now the fare is £3900.

“No explanation what so ever! This is pure extortion of one of their busiest routes!”

The fare paid on Nigerian routes is twice what is charged from Accra, capital of Ghana, to London.

An analysis by TheCable showed an economy flight booked for November 15 from Lagos to London lasting 6hrs, 35mins costs $2608, at $396/hr.

However, a flight from Accra, Ghana, with the same specification and time, costs $1158 at $176/hr.

But a flight from Abuja to London costs $961 at $147/hr.

The analysis also revealed that a flight from New York, US, lasting 8hrs, 5mins, costs $2040 at $252/hr.

A flight from London to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) lasting 7hrs,10mins, costs $1797 at $251/hr.

When TheCable contacted the airline for clarification, a respondent said the fewer the available seats, the more expensive the fare.

“It depends on the fare and availability we have at that particular time,” a customer care representative told TheCable on the telephone.

“If the fare is high, unfortunately, we have to give the passenger a higher fare.”

When asked what he meant by availability, he said: “It means we have a limited number of seats and the seats which are available are for the higher fares.

“It is not necessary that if you are getting a fare of £200 from a place, you’d get the same fare from other places. It is all about availability.”

As of the time this report was filed, 7,794 persons had signed Gana’s petition.