Hub: Dubai International Airport
Parent
organization: The Emirates
Group
CEO: Ahmed bin
Saeed Al Maktoum (1985–)
Headquarters: Dubai, United
Arab Emirates
Founder: Maurice
Flanagan
Emirates Airlines is coming back to Nigeria with cheap dollar
airfares, but the move is attracting a mix of knocks and applause from aviation
experts and travellers.
Checks showed that all fare inventories on Emirates Airlines’
website were priced in dollars, but prices were competitive when compared with
other airlines.
The news that Emirates has opened bookings is supposed to be
good news, but it is not because it’s in dollars. This means that people have
to buy dollars in black market to be able to pay for Emirates’ tickets, thereby
putting more pressure on the foreign exchange market, which will result in
scarcity and fare increase.
Emirates had earlier announced that it would
resume services to Nigeria from October 1, 2024, operating a daily service
between Lagos and Dubai, and offering customers more choice and connectivity
from Nigeria’s largest city to and through Dubai.
The service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER. EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in
Lagos at 1520hrs. The return flight, EK784, will leave Lagos at 1730hrs and
arrive in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day.
Checking the Australian route from here, Emirates has the
cheapest fares. If it is in dollars then one have to use naira to buy dollars
and it is cheaper in naira. It is a bit tricky. It may be a marketing gimmick
They have been able to prove to everyone in the industry that
they are a strong force without the Nigerian market.
If Emirates could make a lot of profits when it suspended
flights into Nigeria, then it should have a strategy to succeed in the Nigerian
market.
One of the reasons Emirates pulled out of the Nigerian market
was because of the trapped funds and its fuel suppliers, noting that the
airline paid in dollars while others were paying naira to their suppliers.
“These are some of the things they should
renegotiate before returning. How can we even ask them to charge in naira if
suppliers are charging for the services they provide in dollars? If you ask
them to charge in naira, then it should apply to government agencies. When you
are coming to equity, come with clean hands.”
findings show that a return economy class ticket from Lagos to
London Heathrow on KLM costs N2.3million; Air France – N2.2 million; Ethiopian
Airlines – N2.7 million; Egypt Air – N2.7milion; and Virgin Atlantic, N3.2
million.
A return business class ticket from Lagos to London Heathrow on
Royal Air Maroc costs N5.7million; Air Peace – N6.5 million; Turkish Airlines –
N6.9 million; Egypt Air, N7.1 million; Qatar Airways, N7.4 million.
However, a return economy class ticket from Lagos to London
Heathrow on Emirates costs $1,130, which amounts to N1.83 million while the
business class costs $4,290, amounting to a little above N6.9 million.
However, a return economy class ticket from Lagos to London
Heathrow on Emirates costs $1,130, which amounts to N1.83 million while the
business class costs $4,290, amounting to a little above N6.9 million.
Also, an economy class return ticket from Lagos
to Dubai on Emirates costs $987. With the exchange rate of N1,620/$, this will
cost N1.59 million. A business class return ticket from Lagos to Dubai on
Emirates costs $4,418, amounting to N7.1 million.
A return economy class ticket from Lagos to Dubai on Turkish
Airlines costs N1.63 million; Kenya Airways, N1.17 million; Egypt Air, 1.3
million; Qatar Airways, N1.3 million; Ethiopian Airlines, N1.5 million;
Emirates, N1.7 million .
A return business class ticket from Lagos to Dubai on Egypt Air
costs N4.1million; Kenya Airways – N4.8million; Qatar Airways – N4.97 million;
Turkish Airlines, N4.98 million; Ethiopian Airlines, N5 million.
Yinka Folami, president, National Association of Nigerian Travel
Agencies (NANTA), said despite Emirates’ opening of the ticket booking, the
United Arab Emirates’ visa policy is still very exclusive.
“The restrictions are still high. I expect that an airline like
Emirates, having left the market for about two years, will come in with an
entry strategy. As a Nigerian, I’m worried that Emirates is charging in
dollars.
“Our legal tender is still the naira and my personal experience
is that if we keep denominating dollars in Nigeria, it will keep putting
pressure on the naira. That’s the way I see it,” Folami said.
According to him, he would rather have a situation where the legal tender of the country is respected, adding that beyond the cost of tickets, Nigeria is a sovereign nation deserving respect.
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