AVIATION

‘Why domestic carriers need to up their ante’

Amidst the regular calls by the different stakeholders on the government to designate some of the domestic airlines as flag carriers, it is being argued that for the domestic carriers to enjoy such privilege they have to raise the standard in their operations.

An aviation analyst who though has retired from one of the agencies, while speaking to Nigerian Tribune on the condition of anonymity, declared that the domestic airlines will definitely run into problems if designated as flag carriers under their present predicaments.

The analyst who cited poor customer service as one of the weak points of the domestic airlines, remarked: “it is imperative they have to raise their service levels to compete.

“Not the way some of them treat passengers in their domestic operations. It will be difficult on the international routes with various lawsuits that could cripple their operations. Poor customer service is evident in the way some of them treat their customers. This has been the major problem interlining with mega carriers who go point beyond the major hubs.

“The domestic airlines do not want a national carrier basically because of competition and the fear that with the government’s backing, the national carrier will be favoured.”

The analysts stressed the urgent need for the government to ensure the country enjoy some reasonable reciprocity in the Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) it signed with over 100 countries.

Many stakeholders had hitherto lamented the unbalanced existing air service agreements majority of which are skewed in favour of the foreign countries.

some of reciprocity on our BASA routes.

According to the analyst, while the government should be encouraged to designate some of the domestic airlines with improved service levels as flag carriers in the international routes, the national carrier project should be fine-tuned and driven by the private sector with minimal public equity.

Shola Adekola