Airport Information Desk|Travelling by Air in Nigeria: What you need to know

The last time i gave you tips on how to have a seamless trip this festive Season. Well today due to Popular demand i have decided to treat the Topic|Travelling by Air in Nigeria: What you need to know.

I do get alot of calls from people concerning subject. I have decided to run you through the steps in the simplest manner.

Step 1- Determine Where and When

No Airline would accept you onboard without a travel ticket. So you have to book and pay for one. But before you take this step you need to be sure of where you are travelling to and when. I said where because Nigeria Airlines dont fly to all destinations in Nigeria. So it is necessary to ascertain this.

Step 2- Book Ontime

When you book your ticket on time you get cheaper fares and great deals. Generally, apart from business travellers who book flights close to the time they travel and are willing to pay more, It is always advisable to plan your trip ahead of your travel date. Whilst we can not totally rule out unplanned and emergency travels, but we can atleast leverage on cheap fares and save some money which can be utilized for other things. Not booking ontime exposes you to higher fares. I guess you wouldn’t like that?

You know i use to have passengers come onboard requesting to be upgraded to business class because their ticket fare was rather exorbitant and presumably, they paid for business class ticket. After checking through i would usually find out that obviously they bought their ticket on same day of travel. For example Mr A can pay N15,000 for a ticket and Mr. B will pay N30,000 to same destination. The difference between them is the time of booking and the class/category available when they booked. My advise; Dont be a lastminute passenger book ontime.

Step 3- Ticket Fare
This is one area that is a bit complicated. People call asking me how much a ticket cost. Well there is generally no set rate for flight tickets but a range of prices depending on when you book. Trying to understand how airlines set their fares could be daunting. It varies from Airline to Airline depending on market forces and other variables. I know it can be quite tricky and often difficult to explain. One thing you need to know is that ticket fares are not fixed.

Step 3- How and Where to Book

Some intending travellers see this as a Herculean task. Not at all. Booking and paying for your travel ticket is very easy. Surprisingly you have many options to explore. All you need do is to go to the airport. In Lagos we have two local terminals. If your Airline of Choice is Aero, Dana, Medview and First Nation then Mm2 is where you should go to. But if Air Peace, Arik or Overland is your Choice then the General Terminal is where you need to go. Note that these airlines would usually have their signs above their counters. All you need do is walk up to their respective counters and make your enquiries. You can book and pay instantly. That simple. However if you do not have the luxury of time and you are IT savvy, you can sit in the comfort of your home or office, book and pay online. I forgot to mention that you actually get cheaper fares when you book online. Peradventure you dont want to explore earlier mentioned steps, you can enlist the help of a travel agent for a fee. I must not forget to warn you that if you fail to explore these options you may end up in the hands of touts and swindlers. You dont want to be a victim. Do you?

Follow these few tips and you dont need to worry about how to go about travelling by Air.

I hope you have found these steps useful?. Let me not load you with too much information on one post. Watch this space for more tips on subject.