Arik Air
A meeting between officials of the British government and Nigerian officials led by the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah over the breach of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) on operational mode and conditions of the British Airways and Nigeria’s Arik Airline on the Nigeria/British route in Abuja did not yield the desired results as the British officials requested for more time to further study requests made by Nigeria.
A statement signed by the Special Assistant to the Aviation Minister on Media, Mr. Joe Obi said during the meeting, British Airways offered to reduce the airfare of its Business Class by 20 per cent.
“The Nigerian officials considered this as insufficient. The Nigerian government is still very concerned about the regional price disparity, we still strongly believe that this regional imbalance should be dismantled. In other words, British Airways should offer the same or similar fares from Nigeria to the United Kingdom as is the case in other equidistant destination within West Africa. The British authorities requested to be given an opportunity to carry out an independent study of the regional pricing disparity in the UK/Nigeria aviation market.
We expect the conclusion of this study by the end of the year to facilitate a conclusion on the subject. With respect to a slot at Heathrow Airport, seven slots per week from Abuja have been secured for Arik Air at the prevailing commercial rate.
As you are aware, FAAN is renovating and upgrading the airports. These efforts will require a review of current slot allocations and additional funding. Towards this end, FAAN is considering applying commercial slot rates for slots into Murtala Mohammed International Airport in the spirit of Bilateral Air Service Agreement,” the statement read in part.
According to the statement, the Nigerian government described as unacceptable, a situation where the British Airways would charge passengers on first class from Lagos airport to Heathrow $9,846.19 as against $4,902.14 from Accra, Ghana to Heathrow.
Author: Chief Editor
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