I am all for giving Nigerian airlines a fair chance to compete on international routes against foreign airlines, and I give Hon. I want to especially give Hon. Festus Keyamo, SAN, his full accolades as Minister of of Aviation for working tirelessly to ensure Mr. Onyeama and Air Peace got a chance to sit at the table of international flight operators from Nigeria. I especially applaud Keyamo’s personal intervention to ensure Air peace and Mr Onyeama got a fair deal form the European people despite the fact that Onyeama is Igbo, at a time when many love to unfairly accuse the Ashiwaju Government of only supporting Yoruba businesses or for penalizing Igbo business people.
Aviation Minister Keyamo was hands-on, and he even traveled abroad several times to help them negotiate, and we thank God that they secured the charter, and the Nigerian government also backed them up. Nigerians also showed their support as they started showing a preference for supporting our own to win over foreign competitors.
However, now that the charter has been given, it’s time Air Peace buckles up and gets ready to compete in the marketplace. The whole idea of allowing competition is to ensure prices go down so consumers and travelers can get the best deal as the operators vie for their business with better pricing and services.
So, why are Air Peace and Phillip Onyema crying about a so-called conspiracy by the foreign airlines to lower costs as a way of frustrating him in a price war he actually initiated?
I recall watching Mr. Onyeama sounding so patriotic when he gleefully announced that he had reduced the prices of Air Peace flights to London to make them more affordable for Nigerians. They ran adverts and social media videos to show that they cared about us and to ensure we get better prices than those of the overpriced tickets of other foreign airlines.
Now, I am surprised to see the same Mr. Onyeama and Air Peace, whining, and trying to play the victim card now that the foreign airlines have responded in kind and slashed their own prices to lower than his, so they too can attract more customers.
So, I must ask, why are Onyeama and Air Peace crying? It’s called a price war, and you started it! What exactly was Air Peace expecting? That these much more experienced airlines would just crawl away and die? Or they would just let you take away all the lunch they have been enjoying alone for years without fighting back? Please grow up, sir.
Now, this is no longer Nigeria, where you and your local operators always increased prices to torment us. You are now competing with the big boys, and it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. You have to learn to adapt to survive because these international giants will not let you run roughshod over them.
It’s called an open marketplace. It’s called a price war, and it won’t end until the race to the bottom is concluded, and the consumers get the lowest prices they can. You must compete or perish. That’s the rule of the economic jungle. It’s always survival of the fittest, sir.
Meanwhile, consumers are laughing all the way from Lagos to London because, for the first time ever, prices are falling for international flights. Let consumers enjoy that, sir. Improve your services. Make your operations more efficient, and maybe customers will stick with you.
Why should I pay you $1,200 if your competitor is asking for $1,100? Your threats that if you are unable to compete, Nigeria will lose billions of dollars is just sentimental hogwash from a company that refused to compete effectively on the international level.
The goal of every consumer is to pay less for services where possible, and if those airlines are offering $100 less, as you claimed, you have no right to expect those flyers to pay you the higher price because they are fellow citizens. You are not a charitable organization. You keep your profits and spend them on yourself or your family. Why should we suffer as Nigerians to make you richer? No, sir. Patriotism can only go so far sir. We all root for your success but you must compete in the marketplace!
The government has already done its part by giving you a seat at the table, and Nigerians have already shown your airline incredible loyalty by packing your flights and giving you preference as their own patriotic gesture. Now, you must tighten your belt and make sure you can compete so we consumers also can get lower prices.
If you think they are pricing below cost, then you too should seek investors with deep pockets who can put in more money in the short term so you too can compete at a loss for a while until you all sort out the price war. You can’t come into the industry undercutting your competitors by charging lower prices and then start crying when they fight back by lowering prices even lower than yours, sir.
I love you, sir, and wish your airline will survive after going through so much effort to get into the international routes, but don’t come at us with emotional blackmail as compatriots. You have your license. Now go and compete while we root for you!
My name is Ope Banwo, and I believe in marketplace competition. It is survival of the fittest, and that is the Fadeyi Way.
