Air Peace, a major Nigerian airline, has expressed its disappointment over recent allegations of exploitative fares leveled against it by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The airline’s COO, Mrs. Toyin Olajide, at a news conference in Lagos, clarified that the FCCPC’s actions were merely an inquiry, not a formal investigation.
Olajide emphasized that the airline had fully cooperated with the FCCPC, providing detailed explanations and data to justify its pricing.
She highlighted the complex factors that influence airline ticket pricing, including fuel costs, airport charges, and operational expenses.
The Air Peace COO also pointed out that Air Peace often offers competitive fares compared to other airlines, both domestic and international.
The airline expressed concern over the negative impact of such allegations, particularly on its international operations.
“Before you say that an airline is exploiting someone, for goodness sake, how much information do we even have about airline operation? What exactly defines the ticket cost?
“This is coming from some quarters that we absolutely do not understand the reason behind this, despite going to them to provide the explanations, honouring their invite, Yet, we are facing this, This needs to stop because the damage is not only on Airpeace, but it’s on Nigeria”.
It cited instances where potential partners had raised concerns about the airline’s reputation due to the public perception created by the FCCPC’s actions.
“One of the countries that we are applying to for slots, I will not mention names, so that we can start our summer operation, they wrote us, they put it down in writing to tell us that, Airpeace, I don’t have slots for you because you are not our priority”.
She added, To put this kind of thing in writing and say to you, when they read this kind of news, they will come to a conclusion that your own federal government is against you, and we know that the federal government of Nigeria supports indigenous investments, it’s really disheartening when people do this kind of thing without understanding the implications, the magnitude of the damage they could do to themselves, because if not just, Airpeace”.
Air Peace reiterated its commitment to providing affordable and quality air travel services to Nigerians.
The airline urged the public to consider the various factors that contribute to ticket pricing and to avoid hasty judgments based on incomplete information.
