Air Peace, Others Still Under Investigation – FCCPC Declares

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Contrary to stories making the rounds, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, said it is still investigating allegations of exploitative tendencies against Air Peace Airline.

It, also, informed that the activities of  other corporate entities are under the search light of the Council.

The Council’s reaction comes on the heels of  reports claiming that it is not carrying out any inquest into what many have come to perceive as unfair and exploitative air ticket pricing by Air Peace.

The Airline recently drew wide spread condemnation for fixing the return tickets of most of its operations on the domestic routes at  N620,000, especially, the South-east routes.

The new ticket fares by the airline has been perceived as not just exploitative ,but completely insensitive and provocative by not a few Nigerians.

An  official notice issued by the spokesperson for the Council Ondaje Ijagwuon, informed that an investigation into the allegations against the airline and others began on Tuesday December 3, as earlier scheduled.

He described the reports denying the investigation process as syndicated, sponsored and false.

According to him, the airline and others are being engaged with a view to addressing concerns raised by consumers/customers about unfair ticket pricing, particularly, on the domestic routes .

The inquest which he said  is being carried out in line with the provisions of the 2018 FCCPC Act  is to address complaints bordering on poor service delivery, exploitative practices and potential consumer rights violations.

“The referenced story (story denying the investigation) which seems syndicated and sponsored, did not emanate from the FCCPC.

“We advise the public to disregard it in its entirety. The FCCPC stands firmly by its official release dated December 1, which announced inquiries into widespread consumer complaints in the banking, telecommunications, and aviation sectors.

“The FCCPC reaffirms that the inquiry into Air Peace commenced as scheduled on December 3, and remains ongoing”, the Commission’s spokesman stated.

Instructively, Aero Contractors, another major player, in the aviation industry, on Tuesday  slashed its fares on domestic routes to N80,000 flat.

At an Interactive session with the media, its Managing Director, Ado Sanusi, informed that the airline in the spirit of the forthcoming festive period has decided to reduce its domestic tickets price from N 99,000 and  N199,000 for economy and business class respectively.

“We understand the pains Nigerians have been going through because of the economic hardship, the high prices of tickets and with the holiday season nearby.

“So, Aero Contractors has decided to announce a Christmas initiative. We call them pocket-friendly Christmas prices.

“These prices are designed to allow Nigerians to travel to all our destinations without paying too much.

“Our prices will start from N80,000 to all of our destinations, and we intend to make it affordable to flying public/families to meet their loved ones during the Christmas season”, Sanusi stated.