DANA AIR claimed on Friday that it had slashed airfares for passengers travelling from Asaba, Owerri and Enugu to Lagos to N18,000, but The ICIR’s fact-check shows that it is misleading.
The price slash, according to Dana Air, was valid between December 11 and 31, 2021, according to a statement forwarded to our correspondent on Friday and a telephone interview with the airline on Saturday.
The airline revealed its decision to slash the airfares during a courtesy visit by AHS Aviation Handling Services Nigeria Limited to Dana Air’s newly appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer Sukhjinder Mann.
”As part of efforts to celebrate our customers this yuletide, we have introduced N18,000 flash sales for our customers travelling from Asaba, Owerri and Enugu to Lagos and this will be on till 31st December, 2021.”
The airline did not specify the class of airfare slashed to N18,000 but presented the information to the general public as if all classes could be booked at that rate.
The ICIR fact-check, however, shows that Dana flight from Owerri to Lagos for December 15, four days after the ‘flash price,’ goes as high as N32,400 for the economy class and N117,000 for the business flexible class.
For Asaba to Lagos flight on December 16, the price of economy class is N32,4000 with economy saver reaching N44,100 and business saver at N95,400.
Enugu to Lagos is not different. On December 15, economy class costs N40,500 while business saver is priced at N95,400
The only period the economy class is priced at N18,000, as found by our correspondent, is on December 22/23, with other classes also as high as the previous days.
The ICIR contacted the company to explain why its press statement on Friday contradicts what is on its website.
Speaking in a telephone interview, Dana Air Spokesman Kingsley Ezenwa said the price slash was on a first-come, first-served basis.
“The flash sales are expected to begin December 11 to December 31st. It is there in the press statement. You can check that. The price slash to N18,000 is for only 40- 50 per cent of the airline capacity after which the fare moves to the next class.
“It is only for economy and not business class. We could have put the fare at N23,000, but seats are far expensive than that. We slammed it on N18,000 to make everyone fly, not many airlines do that. We opened the slot to accommodate 40-50 per cent of the total bookings and it depends on when you book. If you are not smart enough, someone else would snatch up the offer just like how it goes for Jumia Black Friday where the flash sales are limited. When someone doesn’t meet the price at 18,000, they may think it is a scam,” he explained.
However, Dana Air did not provide these explanations to Nigerians on Friday. A woman, who gave her name as Miracle, a fashion designer and cook, expressed shock over that.
“I went to the website to book it myself on Saturday, but I saw different rates. The airline should just have explained all the details, but, maybe, left the details to attract customers. This is something a consumer protection agency should have taken up.”
Republished from the International Centre for Investigative reporting.
