AERO: THE UNENDING COUNTER CHAOS

In my article, “Challenges Before the Industry in 2012” I highlighted the issue of regulations that will protect passengers before, during and after a flight, that issue has come to the front burner now due to the recurring and concurrent chaos at Aero Contractors check in and booking counters in some cities in the country.

Aero needs to urgently find solution to this problem which usually emanates from delays, cancellation, overbooking and bumping of passengers. We appreciate the boldness and innovation of starting and retaining low and very attractive online fares when other carriers backed out due to the ever increasing Jet A1 price that was deregulated by Government, but secretly regulated by oil marketers, who recently went for each other’s jugular over adulteration and excessive profiteering.

On the 3rd of January 2012, a passenger with a baby was booked on Aero’s early morning LOS – ABV flight, she got a text rebooking her for the 6pm same day flight, right at the checking in counter. To her chagrin, the flight did not depart till 2300 HRS. She was left with the menace and risk of leaving Abuja airport in the early hours of the next morning at great risk and at a cost higher than the airfare.

On Saturday, 14th of January at their counter in MM2, which was a day after the five day strike, with very low passenger turn out at the Domestic Airport, there was little or no activity at Aero Check-in-Counter, but the Booking Counter was complete bedlam with passengers throwing fisticuffs. The chaos emanated as usual from refund, re-booking and disregard for the queuing system.

Disregard for the queuing system is a norm in the industry, where egress for operational and airline staff are used by touts and other airline staff to beat the queue in their bid to assist passengers or favoured clients at a fee. This is usually done with the support of some airline staff and duty supervisors.

Aero is not alone, almost all the domestic airlines are guilty of crimes against fare paying passengers and really need to dig deep and begin to reverse the ugly trend. Enugu bound passengers were worst hit during this period due to frequent cancellation of flights to the airport.

It cannot be attributed to the airlines or weather, but the immediate past Minister of Aviation who hastily upgraded that airport to an international airport while also commissioning it for visual operations only, due to lack of necessary and required facilities.

I was also taken aback when I saw Benin bound passengers groaning after waiting for 5hrs for a 35 minute flight (or 4hrs by road). It is more painful when you understand that the LOS-BNI fares are high and not commensurate with flight distance, the Deputy Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly raised an alarm on the fare sometime ago. This is domestic discriminatory fares that will only stop if we strengthen existing and encourage new low fare operators.

Aero should dig deep and begin to weave solutions to the counter problem just like they did when they introduced free seating with its accompanying cabin commotion. They should consider setting up a low fare carrier to nurture its budding online discount passenger clientele or in the interim increase frequencies by having more night flights. Its on-line portal should be updated to provide more options and as much as possible support passenger request rather than having to clog the airport counters for requests that can be treated electronically.

Management should weigh its options of either retaining its strong oil and associated industry high yield passengers and ultra loyalist of its unblemished safety records or the new facebook generation that monitors and follows its online fares assiduously.

NCAA should introduce a monthly publication of delayed departure, lost luggage, complaints etc for all domestic carriers. This will make them very conscious of their responsibilities leading to better service. These publications should go hand in hand with the present diplomatic overtures.