Over the last year, oil prices have dropped by more than 50 percent. Motorists filling up at fuel stations know that prices of petrol and Kerosene is high in Nigeria .
However, Sharon Mclean, an aviation expert said most airlines are now in fuel
contracts that reflect the plummeting global oil prices, and wonders why
the price is not falling especially in Africa.
In most routes in the United States and Europe airline prices has
dropped.The US Bureau of Labour Statistics in a January report said air
fares by foreign travellers on US airlines fell 15.0 per cent in 2015,
the largest calendar-year drop since the index was first published in
1987.
The decline in ticket prices was steepest for air travel to Latin
American and Caribbean down 17.8 per cent, but there were also big
drops in fares to Asia (down 14.6 per cent) and Europe (down 11.7 per
cent).
The International Air Transport Associated (IATA) late last year said
that ticket prices have not been cut because airlines are still in
contracts for fuel that pre-date the previous months’ oil prices
fall. IATA represents 240 airlines or 84 percent of total air traffic. Aviation Experts say with oil and jet fuel costs down two-thirds
since last year, airlines can expect to reduce their overheads by about
20 per cent leading to cheaper air fares across the globe. Some airlines said they are using the windfall in fuel costs to
reduce debt and to make needed reinvestment in their infrastructure.
Travelers should not expect air ticket prices to fall with the
decrease in the oil price, as the aviation industry is still recovering
from high fuel prices from previous years. Please share and like!