December 3, 2018

Domestic airfares fall to record low…as AWA offers Accra-Kumasi tickets for GH¢49

Domestic airfares have fallen to the lowest level ever recorded over the past five years, as Africa World Airlines (AWA) offers the travelling public a one-way ticket from Accra to Kumasi for GH¢49, starting November 28, 2018.

The fare, which is lower than that of air-conditioned buses that transport people between the two largest cities in the country, is expected to provide more travelling options and encourage more people to choose air travel.

Traveling by air between the two cities takes about 45 minutes, while it takes an average of 4-hours to commute between the two points.

The promotion, dubbed “Wow Wednesday”, insists passengers must book their ticket on Wednesdays between 12pm and 5pm to enjoy this drastically reduced ticket price.

Passengers travelling from Accra to other domestic destinations will also get to enjoy reduced fares in the weeks ahead.

Declining domestic fares

Domestic airfares, determined by market forces, had remained elevated since the demise of Starbow – the only other airline that provided domestic air services after the collapse of Antrak, Citilink and Fly540.

The shortage of options, in the face of growing demand for seats on AWA due to the gap left by Starbow, meant that AWA had to scale-up its operations to accommodate the unexpected demand.

With the start of scheduled passenger operations in August 2018 by indigenous airline PassionAir, operated by trained Ghanaian aviation professionals, airfares saw a significant reduction.

For instance, a one-way ticket between Accra and Kumasi fell from GH¢400 to about GH¢250, and Accra-Tamale one-way also fell from a high of GH¢500 to about GH¢390.

Deputy Aviation Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, acknowledge that: “For us aviation is key to economic development, and therefore opening up the country and connecting it is essential to economic development.

“As a government we believe in aviation; and for that matter, government under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo within six months of coming into office removed the VAT on domestic airfares. We believe that this year, given the efforts we have put in, we should see at least two more airlines by end of the year and a further drop in airfares.”