Aviation
As flights are cut, airfares go up, at least at first
NEW YORK – In the past eight years, as the airline industry experienced a flurry of mergers, escalating fuel costs and a global recession, many airports that experienced deep cuts in service have seen steep spikes in fares.
A USA Today Network analysis of the top 100 airports in the 48 contiguous states found that on average, those that lost at least a quarter of their domestic seats since the start of 2005 saw nearly twice the average fare increase.
That trend worries some industry watchers as American Airlines heads to court Monday to get what will likely be the final approval needed to close its merger with US Airways.
Past mergers have resulted in the new partners shedding some hubs and cutting flights at some airports as they focus on more profitable routes and portals.
“You see flight reductions, personnel reductions, service reductions and fare increases,” says Brent Bowen, dean of the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott, Ariz., campus. “When these airlines merge and combine … you’ll see former hubs not being hubs anymore.”
Merger imminent
Representatives of American Airlines, which has been under bankruptcy protection since November 2011, are scheduled to head to bankruptcy court Monday in New York City to get approval for the company’s restructuring plan. A green light would clear the way for it to finalize its merger with US Airways, a deal that will create the largest airline in the world.
The two airlines reached a settlement this month with the Department of Justice, which sued to block the tie-up but backed down when the airlines agreed to give up dozens of take-off and landing slots at New York’s LaGuardia and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports.
American and US Airways said they would maintain their hubs in Los Angeles, Charlotte, New York’s JFK, Miami, Chicago O’Hare, Philadelphia and Phoenix for three years. They have committed to keep their merged headquarters in Dallas-Fort Worth for the same time period.
The cutbacks in service that have hit most of the top 100 airports in the past eight years reflect an industry that’s been transformed as it’s tried to stay afloat. Onetime rivals have merged, allowing them to focus on bigger, more profitable hubs, and airlines have become extremely disciplined, careful not to fly more seats in a market than they can profitably fill.
“That’s what consolidation has allowed them to do, because they can generate the same amount of revenue doing less of the flying,” says William Swelbar, a research engineer with MIT’s International Center for Air Transportation.
Fewer flights in a market generally means higher ticket prices.
“Inevitably, fares get squeezed, and they rise,” says Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Hudson Crossing.
Flights disappear
Cincinnati remains a Delta hub, but its domestic flights have shrunk in the wake of Delta declaring bankruptcy in 2005 and then merging three years later with Northwest, which had an overlapping hub in Detroit.
USA Today’s research found that Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport saw its seats plummet 80 percent between the first quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2013, as Delta slashed flights and the airport lost service from Northwest as well as Continental, which merged with United in 2010.
Fares spiked 26 percent during that eight-year period, to an average ticket price of $519 — the highest of the 100 airports reviewed.
“Delta was using Cincinnati in the same way Northwest used Detroit,” Swelbar says. “They consolidated those (traffic) flows around Detroit.”
Indianapolis International Airport saw domestic fares increase 23 percent between the first quarters of 2005 and 2013, and its domestic seats plunged 39 percent.
The airport suffered deep cuts in air service and saw fares escalate after ATA, a dominant carrier there, went into bankruptcy and eventually folded. Cutbacks continued when Northwest shrank its Indianapolis mini-hub after joining forces with Delta.
High jet fuel prices, a key reason airfares increase, also had an effect in Indianapolis. But this year ticket prices finally started to stabilize and several carriers are adding new routes, including non-stop service between Indianapolis and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Trenton, N.J.
The agreement by American and US Airways to give up slots at LaGuardia and Reagan National will reduce some service between those airports and smaller cities. But they might add flights between those communities and their other hubs, such as Philadelphia, Harteveldt says. Additional service could lead to lower fares, and wherever American and US Airways exit, lower-cost carriers could enter.
When all is said and done, some industry experts say, airline tickets can only surge so high.
“Airlines know they can push fares only so far,” Harteveldt says.x
An Air Peace flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt has suffered a disruption, after the aircraft was affected by a bird strike on arrival at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
The airline made the disclosure on Thursday in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Osifo-Whiskey Efe.
He added that the incident necessitated safety checks on the affected aircraft and the deployment of another aircraft to convey passengers on subsequent flights.
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“We deeply empathise with passengers affected by this unforeseen incident and are working diligently to minimise disruptions,” Efe said.
The latest incident adds to the growing challenge of bird strikes faced by local airlines.
In December 2025, Air Peace disclosed that it recorded 49 bird strikes across Nigeria between January and September, stressing that even a single strike could ground an aircraft for weeks.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Allen Onyema, had said on Arise TV that bird strikes constituted a major operational challenge, often leading to costly repairs and serious disruptions to flight schedules.
“One bird strike could cripple your aircraft for the next month. At that moment, there is no two ways about it. These bird strikes often lead to costly delays and serious disruptions in flight schedules,” he said.
He added that losses from such incidents compound other challenges facing Nigerian airlines, including heavy taxation and operational constraints.
With the firm belief that it is both sadistic and absolutely despicable, the recently announced outrageous hike in airfares to South East from Abuja to Lagos for Yuletide of 2025 by over 131 percent by Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines, the owners have been asked to immediately have a rethink and review backward these harsh, toxic and unfriendly airfares targeting Igbo passengers exclusively.
Making the charge to the chairmen of Air Peace and United Nigeria airlines, Mr. Allen Ugochukwu and Mr. Obiora Okonkwo, the prominent civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) expressed anger that these businesses whose proprietors are Igbo by birth are fond of making it so difficult for hundreds of thousands of Igbo passengers residing outside of the South-East to travel home on Christmas festivities.
The rights group say that for many years now, because Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are monopolies and then Igbos have the tradition exclusively in Nigeria of going home to South East from all over the globe during Yuletides, these few airlines have decidedly fixed toxic ticketing airfares for Igbos whereas northerners who also travel during their religious festivities of salah are not subjected to such exploitative treatments.
The HURIWA accused the two airlines of price fixing, which is anti-competition just as the Rights group said it is giving these two Igbo-hating airlines to review backward their toxic and discriminatory airfares within ten working days from today or it will petition the federal government publicly funding consumer rights body[Federal Competition and Consumer Rights Commission) in Abuja.
The HURIWA wonders if these Igbo owners of private airlines known for making their planes available to government for free during emergencies are in a conspiratorial plots with haters of Igbo land who are unhappy at the convivial and happy atmospheres in the South East during Yuletide, just as the rights group has appealed to Igbo governors to immediately intervene and urge Mr. Allen Ugochukwu and Mr Obiora Okonkwo to treat the Igbo just as they treat for instance northern Muslims who also migrate home to northern Nigeria from around the globe during their Muslim festivities because what is good for the goose, is good for the gander.
The HURIWA said that if Air Peace Airlines have gotten involved in many humanitarian efforts of airlifting Nigerians from outside of our shores for free, it becomes of the Airline ought not to maltreat their clients of Igbo extraction.
The HURIWA quoted from the business official website of Air Peace in which it described its latest humanitarian effort to be an addition to a growing list of interventions by Dr. Allen Onyema and Air Peace.
Quoting Air Peace website, HURIWA stated that Air Peace said thus: “In 2019, the airline airlifted 503 Nigerians free of charge from South Africa amidst xenophobic attacks. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Air Peace conducted multiple repatriation flights. In 2022, the airline flew Nigerian evacuees out of war-torn Ukraine. In May 2023, Dr. Onyema again deployed Air Peace aircraft to evacuate 277 stranded Nigerians from Sudan.
As the rescued women prepare to begin a new chapter, supported by medical care and reintegration efforts, one truth stands out: Air Peace is more than just an airline — it is a bridge of hope for Nigerians in crisis, and a national symbol of empathy, courage and service,” HURIWA conclusively quoted Air Peace.
The HURIWA therefore strongly condemns the two airlines for hiking and fixing unaffordable airfares indiscriminately against Igbo passengers, even as the festive season draws near, Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines have raised their return ticket fares to N677,000, a move that could add financial strain on travellers. The rise in airfares reflects the high demand expected during the holiday rush.
Key Points
Air Peace and United Nigeria increase return ticket fares to N677,000 for the yuletide season.
Airfares on routes to the South-East, including Enugu and Anambra, experience the highest surge.
Ibom Air offers comparatively cheaper tickets, with return fares at N381,600.
Air Peace’s one-way fare for December to January peaks at N350,500.
United Nigeria will also charge N350,500 for select routes between December 11 and the end of the year.
Northern routes, including Lagos-Kano, face smaller increases, with fares starting from N106,900.
Experts predict even higher airfares, with one-way tickets possibly reaching N500,000.
The rise in flight prices signals the start of a challenging holiday travel season, with airfares higher than usual due to increased demand. Travelers must be prepared for the surge, with some routes seeing even higher fare projections.
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The HURIWA is hereby warning the two airlines to withdraw their price fixing malpractices against Igbos or else the Rights group would seek justice and redress for the millions of Igbos who would return home for the 2025 Yuletide from the Federal Competition and Consumer Rights Commission and the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria. The HURIWA threatened to drag the two airlines to the Nigerian President through the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Transportation.
An Abuja-Accra flight experienced technical difficulties mid-air on Friday, forcing it to return to Abuja, shortly after departure.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Board (NSIB) made the disclosure in a statement, adding that it has launched investigation into what it described as a serious accident.
Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji stated that preliminary investigations revealed the aircraft experienced an engine number two indication issue.
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It was gathered that the aircraft, with registration number 5NKAL which was operating a flight from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja (DNAA), to Kotoka International Airport, Accra (DGAA).
She explained that four persons were onboard when the incident occurred. The crew immediately requested for a diversion back to Abuja due to the engine indication.
Oladeji added that the crew managed to safely land the aircraft at Abuja Airport at 18:16 UTC.
There were no injuries reported, and all individuals on board are safe.
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