Virgin Atlantic, British Airways Begin Worldwide Promos, Exclude Nigeria

• Two popular UK airlines, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, have slashed fares across multiple routes as they begin promotions
• However, the airlines excluded the Nigerian route from their promos, which experts describe as a rip-off
• The two airlines displayed their current slashed tickets on their websites, asking passengers to avail themselves of the opportunity

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have excluded Nigeria from their current price slash running across many countries.

The airlines displayed the promos on their websites and sent emails to customers, asking them to participate.

BA and Virgin Atlantic exclude Nigeria from promos

However, findings show that Nigerian routes are not included in the promoted price slash.

The development has drawn the attention of aviation experts, who said the airlines always take advantage of Nigerian travellers.

They cited how legacy airlines sold Lagos to London economy class tickets for as high as N5 million, but slashed them when Air Peace entered the route.

British Airways' new ticket prices

According to a message by British Airways to customers, the airline is dropping fares on routes across its huge network, asking passengers to ‘get something in the basket.’

The airline listed some spots for the price slash, including the London-Dubai route, Orlando, Los Angeles, Barbados, Cancun, and Sydney.

It put its promo fare for an 11-hour 15-minute flight from Los Angeles in economy class return ticket at 359 euros, N547,400.

A seven-hour London-Dubai economy class return ticket on British Airways costs N724,800.

A nine-hour and 30-minute London-Orlando economy class return ticket on the airline is sold at N603,200.

Similarly, a nine-hour London-Barbados economy class return ticket on British Airways sold for N793,600.

Virgin Atlantic's new ticket prices

Meanwhile, a Virgin Atlantic seven-hour and 55-minute return ticket on the London-New York route costs N572,800.

Also, an 11-hour 15-minute London-Toronto economy class return ticket on Virgin Atlantic sold for N584,000.

A seven-hour and 50-minute London-Toronto economy class round-trip ticket on the airline sold for N584,000.

Aviation experts disclosed that the airlines excluded Nigeria from their promos due to high demand by travellers.

New ticket prices on Lagos-London route

Recall that airlines were forced to slash their fares from Europe to Nigeria due to the low travel season.

However, the fares are rising again as demand increases due to summer holidays.

British Airways economy class tickets from Lagos to London are sold at N3.2 million and N4 million for a six-hour and 45-minute flight. The same goes for Virgin Atlantic.

The ticket previously sold for between N1.5 million and N2.5 million last month.

A business class ticket on the two airlines from Lagos to London sells for between N14.3 million and N16 million for the business class.

An economy class round-trip ticket from Lagos to some airports in the US sells for between N2.6 million and N4 million. Business-class tickets on the same route sell for between N7.6 and N11.5 million on various airlines.

According to a BusinessDay report, an economy class ticket from Lagos to Dubai sells for between N1.6 million and N2 million, while a business class ticket on the same route sells for N3.7 million to N6.5 million.

Expert frowns at Nigeria’s exclusion

The chief executive officer of Goodwinds Travels and Tours, Henry Uche, disclosed that Nigerian travellers are always on the short end of the stick regarding international airlines.

He said the airlines always rip off Nigerian travellers, starting when the country owed an FX backlog.

“These airlines have not come out of that mode. They believe Nigeria will still owe FX backlog again.

“What the government should do is to call them to order and question why they charge Nigerians higher.

The exchange rate is not the issue because if you convert the rate to what they charge in other routes, Nigerians still pay more,” Uche said.

Air Peace surprises passengers with in-flight smartphone giveaway

Legit.ng earlier reported that passengers aboard an Air Peace flight got mid-air surprise gifts as the airline partnered with Tecno Mobile to give out brand new Camon 40 smartphones during the flight, which sparked a wave of commendation, excitement and admiration on social media.

The giveaway, which happened on the carrier's regional flight, involved a lucky dip during the flight.

Lucky passengers were given the newly released Tecno Camon 40 smartphone, showing the airline’s appreciation to its passengers.

Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng