Travel News
The longest non-stop flights in the world - AFP
Qantas has revealed plans for the world's longest-duration commercial flight by the end of 2025, ferrying passengers between Sydney and London on Airbus A350s in just over 19 hours.
Only a handful of airlines fly non-stop over such vast distances, which present a host of challenges including the capability of planes, commercial viability, and even the health of crew and passengers.
Here are some of the longest-duration flights in the world today:
Singapore to New York: 18 hrs 40 min
Singapore Airlines Flight SQ24 to New York's John F. Kennedy International airport is currently the longest commercial journey in the world, taking passengers more than 15,000 kilometres (9,300 miles) from the city-state to the eastern United States on Airbus A350-900s.
It also operates the second-longest journey -- Flight SQ22, also on A350-900s, to Newark in the US state of New Jersey is scheduled at 18 hours and 25 minutes.
Qantas will use the A350-1000 variant for its planned Sydney-London flights.
Darwin to London - 17 hrs 55 min
The longest current Qantas route -- QF9 -- connects Darwin in northern Australia with London daily, with passengers covering almost 14,000 km on Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
The flights were originally operated between London and the western city of Perth, but were moved to Darwin because of Covid-linked travel restrictions in Australia.
Qantas has said it will resume the Perth-London route this year.
Los Angeles to Singapore - More than 17 hrs
Singapore Airlines Flight SQ35 takes passengers more than 14,000 km over the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles on the US West Coast to the Asian city-state in 17 hours and 10 minutes.
The carrier's San Francisco-Singapore flight is scheduled at 16 hours and 40 minutes.
New York-Hong Kong in 16-17 hrs?
Cathay Pacific said in March that it was planning to alter its New York-Hong Kong route over the Atlantic instead of the Pacific Ocean, making it a longer journey than Singapore Airlines Flight SQ24 to JFK.
The flight path will cover "just under 9,000 nautical miles" (10,357 miles) -- or 16,668 kilometres -- in 16 to 17 hours, the airline told AFP in a statement.
It declined to be drawn why its flight path gave a wide berth to Russia's airspace, which it has previously flown through, according to Bloomberg.
Many airlines have cancelled routes to Russian cities or are avoiding Russian airspace over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Cathay Pacific said the decision was taken because "strong seasonal tailwinds" made the new route more favourable.
Qantas announces plans for non-stop flights from Sydney to New York and London - THE GUARDIAN UK
BY lias Visontay
Airline plans flights from south-east Australia by end of 2025 to run up to 20 hours and be among world’s longest
Qantas has unveiled details of the ultra-long-haul aircraft it plans to run on non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York by the end of 2025, as questions are raised about the emissions benefits and spending priorities of the airline.
Confirming reports that have swirled in recent days, Qantas announced its mega order with European plane manufacturer Airbus for 12 of its A350-1000 aircraft. These will be run on the so-called “Project Sunrise” flights, with the first to be delivered in 2025.
The airline says the planes will be “capable of flying direct from Australia to any other city” in the world, while being 25% more fuel-efficient than previous aircraft.
The wide-body planes will be able to carry 238 passengers – about 100 fewer seats than competitors flying the A350 – and will feature “wellbeing zones” for passengers to move about in the cabin as a way to break up the ultra-long-haul flights that will reach up to 20 hours.
Chief executive Alan Joyce said Project Sunrise is “the last frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance” and that the cabin of the A350s “is being specially designed for maximum comfort in all classes for long-haul flying”.
The airline has planned the project for years, with the pandemic delaying its launch. The projected 20 hour Sydney to London service would become the longest commercial flight in the world.
Despite Qantas’ claim that the non-stop flights and new aircraft will bring “major improvements in emissions”, experts say the benefits will be negligible.
Currently, an average return trip from Sydney to London with a stop in Singapore generates about 3500kg of CO2 emissions per passenger, according to estimates based on Atmosfair data.
Dr Tony Webber, a former chief economist at Qantas who now leads the Airline Intelligence Research group and works at the University of New South Wales’ aviation school, said that ultra long haul flights “are normally not very fuel-efficient at all”.
“It’s true that reducing four movements – a take off and landing for each leg – means less fuel is burned, but for a plane to stay in the air for 20 hours without refuelling means they are carrying an enormous amount of fuel.
“That extra fuel is extra weight, which in turn means you’ve got to burn more fuel overall to carry it. It’s a real inefficiency compared with flights that can carry less and refuel at a stop over,” Webber said.
Webber said that the need to carry so much fuel would create payload restrictions, meaning the aircraft could tolerate less freight and passengers.
Conversely, these weight restrictions could lead Qantas to opt for a more spacious seat configuration in its A350s, Webber said, as it can’t maximise the number of seats in line with available cabin space.
Qantas has already said more than 40% of the cabin on its A350s will be “dedicated to premium seating”, in addition to its “wellbeing zones”.
“Being confined to a small space, especially an economy seat, for 18 hours or more is torture,” said Webber. “Personal space will have to be increased, as well as space for pilots and crew to rest.”
While Qantas has not yet released costs for the ultra long haul flights, Webber predicted that at the very minimum, non-stop routes would be $300 more expensive per leg, and increase in line with how much time the route saves the passenger.
Professor Bruce Thompson, head of Melbourne University’s School of Health Sciences, cautioned that the negative effects of repeated long haul flying on pilot and crew members’ circadian rhythms would be more pronounced on the longer flights.
In addition to deep vein thrombosis risk for those in tight economy seats, Thompson said there could be mental health implications that become more pronounced in the final few hours of the 20 hour long services.
“The airlines need to consider comfort and safety onboard these flights. They’ll need multiple sets of crews just to staff them, and you need pilots alert especially at landing,” he said.
Ultimately, Thompson said not enough research had been done to definitively know the safety of flying non-stop for 20 hours. Previous studies commissioned by Qantas on the passenger experience of long haul flying drew suggestions for exercise bikes and virtual reality technology onboard.
Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine was critical of Qantas’ spending on new aircraft after thousands of employees lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Qantas received about $2bn in government Covid wage supports, and separately, the airline was found to have illegally outsourced 2,000 ground handling jobs.
“While many illegally outsourced workers are still struggling to make ends meet and passengers are suffering long delays and lost luggage, we see Qantas splashing the cash on new planes and flight routes,” Kaine said.
Qantas has also ordered an additional 40 Airbus aircraft – A321XLRs and A220-300s – for domestic operations, with the first of these aircraft to be delivered next year. The deal is understood to be valued in the billions of dollars.
Related: Qantas closes in on direct Sydney to London flights with landmark Airbus jet order, industry sources say
While the airline says the exact cost of the new planes is commercial-in-confidence, it said “a significant discount from the standard price should be assumed”. Analysts at Barrenjoey estimated in a client note the entire order could cost at least $6 billion, Reuters reported.
On the orders to refresh its domestic fleet, Joyce said the range and economics of the new planes Qantas had ordered “will make new direct routes possible, including serving regional cities better” and that “these newer aircraft and engines will reduce emissions by at least 15% if running on fossil fuels, and significantly better when run on sustainable aviation fuel”.
Meanwhile, Qantas Group – which includes budget carrier Jetstar – also released its third quarter financial update on Monday. While the resurgence of domestic and some international travel markets has boosted revenue, the airline still expects to post “a significant” full-year loss. Net debt has reduced from $5.5bn at the end of December to $4.5bn by the end of April.
In 2017, Qantas launched non-stop service from Perth to London, and now flies the from Darwin to London.
Nigerians pay more for transportation in March - THE GUARDIAN
By Benjamin Alade
Nigerians paid high transportation fares across different parts of the country in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
The NBS said in its Transport Fare Watch report for March that the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey increased to N46,810.62 from N44,825.04 in February. The difference showed a 4.43 per cent increase.
On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 28.26 per cent (N36,495.41) in March 2021.
The average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to N3,270.94 indicating an increase of 5.29 per cent on a month-on-month compared to the value of N3,106.72 in February.
The fare, however, rose by 35.65 per cent (N2,411.29) year-on-year, in March 2021.
Similarly, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop, increased by 4.41 per cent on a month-on-month from N513.72 in February 2022 to N536.35 in March 2022.
In terms of year-on-year, however, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey within the city per drop rose by 42.17 per cent from N377.27 in March 2021 to N536.35 in March 2022.
In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for journey by motorcycle per drop increased by 4.22 per cent month-on-month from N379.12 in February 2022 to N395.12 in March 2022.
Also, in terms of year-on-year, the fare rose by 45.57 per cent from N271.44 in March 2021 to N395.12 in March 2022.
The average fare paid for water transport (water way passenger transportation) in March 2022 dropped to N890.03 showing a decrease of 2.53 per cent on month- on-month from N 913.13 in February 2022.
On year-on-year, the fare rose by 10.10 per cent from N808.38 in March 2021 to N890.03 in March 2022.
Nigerians paid high transportation fares across different parts of the country in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
The NBS said in its Transport Fare Watch report for March that the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey increased to N46,810.62 from N44,825.04 in February. The difference showed a 4.43 per cent increase.
On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 28.26 per cent (N36,495.41) in March 2021.
The average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to N3,270.94 indicating an increase of 5.29 per cent on a month-on-month compared to the value of N3,106.72 in February.
The fare, however, rose by 35.65 per cent (N2,411.29) year-on-year, in March 2021.
Similarly, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop, increased by 4.41 per cent on a month-on-month from N513.72 in February 2022 to N536.35 in March 2022.
In terms of year-on-year, however, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey within the city per drop rose by 42.17 per cent from N377.27 in March 2021 to N536.35 in March 2022.
In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for journey by motorcycle per drop increased by 4.22 per cent month-on-month from N379.12 in February 2022 to N395.12 in March 2022.
Also, in terms of year-on-year, the fare rose by 45.57 per cent from N271.44 in March 2021 to N395.12 in March 2022.
The average fare paid for water transport (water way passenger transportation) in March 2022 dropped to N890.03 showing a decrease of 2.53 per cent on month- on-month from N 913.13 in February 2022.
On year-on-year, the fare rose by 10.10 per cent from N808.38 in March 2021 to N890.03 in March 2022.
Summer travels in dire straits as cancellations, skill shortage rise - THE GUARDIAN
By Wole Oyebade
Operators and industry experts have warned that massive flight disruption awaits summer travellers this season, with a possible yearlong effect on the sector.
Though passenger traffic demand has surged to an all-time high since the COVID-19 recovery began, airlines and airport infrastructure are on the back foot in the race to keep up with demand pressure. Airlines especially, are facing a staff shortage having laid off several workers at the peak of the devastating pandemic.
Stakeholders in Nigeria said the development was expected and is an opportunity for local idle capacity to harness.
Already, flights originating from the United Kingdom are feeling the pinch of cancellations, offering no guarantee for holidaymakers hoping to fly to Europe and the United States.
British Airways, for instance, has axed hundreds of flights on some routes to the U.S. and the Far East until September, affecting thousands of travellers after it had already cancelled more than 1,000 flights in little more than three weeks.
Routes affected include London to Berlin, Dublin, Geneva, Paris, Stockholm, Athens and Prague. The flagship carrier axed another 200-plus flight early this week, affecting an estimated 20,000 passengers.
JetBlue Airways has notified staffers of the plan to trim its summer schedule to avoid flight disruptions as it scrambles to hire ahead of what executives expect to be a monster peak travel season.
JetBlue’s COO and president, Joanna Geraghty, said in an email to staff: “We’ve already reduced May capacity 8-10 per cent and you can expect to see a similar size capacity pull for the remainder of the summer.”
The airline canceled more than 300 flights in early April, a week after bad weather in Florida kicked off hundreds of flight cancellations and delays on JetBlue and other carriers.
Alaska Airlines last week said it would trim its schedule two per cent through the end of June to handle a pilot shortage after canceling dozens of flights earlier in the month because of staffing shortages.
“We’ve recently let down some of our valued guests by canceling an unusual number of flights,” Alaska said. “The primary cause of cancellations is the shortage of pilots available to fly versus what was planned when we built our April schedule in January.”
FlightAware, a real-time flights’ tracking platform, on Wednesday, reported the cancellation of 1,512 flights globally.
More than 1,140 flights were grounded at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham during the Easter getaway – with EasyJet and British Airways both cutting 60 and 98 flights respectively in a single day.
Airlines are scrambling to staff up to handle a surge in travellers this spring and summer.
Managing Director of Aviation Recruitment Network, Kully Sandhu, intoned that it could be up to 12 months “before we see staffing at airports back to pre-pandemic levels.”
“Recruitment for people at airports takes longer than roles elsewhere because of necessary, additional security and background checks. Routine recruitment campaigns ground to halt during the pandemic and have been slow to start again as international travel has had several restrictions on it until recently. That means the recruitment pipeline was cut off and needs to be re-established.
“Aviation has lost its appeal, not only for returners but also for people who have never worked in an airport environment before.”
Chief Executive Officer of Finchglow Holdings, Bankole Bernard, said the development was not unexpected as the post-pandemic era rallies back to its peak.
Bernard said the emerging vacancies are opportunities for Nigerians that are already trained, and “a lot more could have readily fit in if we had paid more attention to knowledge acquisition.
“We have good hands in Nigeria as it were. They are all gaining jobs outside the country now. Employers know that number one, they come cheap; again because our naira is weak. Number two, they have been well-trained. But we can do more. The government needs to strengthen training institutes in aviation. If they are well recognised, awareness is created around this, then you will see the industry boom more than what it is,” Bernard said.
Chief executive of Red Savannah Luxury Travel, George Morgan-Grenville, described it as an unfortunate perfect storm and airlines and airports are trying to ramp up again after the pandemic.
At the World Travel and Tourism Council’s summit in Manila in the Philippines, Paul Charles, of travel consultancy, The PC Agency, suggested disruption could last many months.
“COVID-19 travel restrictions have brought about the destruction of talent through job losses. BA is only recruiting staff who already have security passes. The airline’s planners believe there is a maximum number of people they feel they will recruit. Therefore, it has to cut back on frequency now based on its expected level of recruitment.
“It is readjusting to give as much notice as it can before it’s inevitable that they have to cancel those flights anyway. It is responding to concerns expressed by their customers and Government ministers about the lack of notice given to consumers.”
Why aviation industry remains in recession – Union - PUNCH
BY Okechukwu Nnodim
The National Union of Air Transport Employees on Sunday said the recent hike in airfares coupled with the impact of the Russia/Ukraine war and the COVID-19 outbreak had delayed the exit of Nigeria’s aviation sector from recession.
NUATE President, Ben Nnabue, who disclosed this in his 2022 May Day speech to workers in the sector, stated that the past year brought both strife and strides to employees in the aviation industry.
He said, “You have witnessed that before we could feel the relief from the waning notorious Coronavirus, our industry was greeted with the double punch of the Putin war on Ukraine and skyrocketing aviation fuel price.
“Against the background of negative travellers’ reaction to recent airfare increases, these multiple adversities have been exceedingly crippling, particularly for airlines. This has delayed the exit of our industry from recession.
“As expected, your union has been seriously challenged by the current pall surrounding the aviation industry. Notwithstanding, however, your union has been proving equal to the task, even making notable strides to the bargain.”
Nnabue also noted that the twin big issues of minimum wage consequential adjustment and conditions of service for the aviation agencies were currently raging.
“We stand firmly by the decision of workers not to accept continuing shifting of the goal post by government agencies on these issues.
“Therefore, this week has been set out for major decisions and subsequent decisive actions that will bring these issues to a foreclosure.
In a similar vein, Nnabue stated that NUATE was unsatisfied with ongoing discussions around the big question of airport concession.
He said, “We are unclear as to the government’s actual response to the demands of aviation unions on labour issues and many lapses in the concession programme.
“In the coming weeks, important decisions will be made to chart a clear path towards ameliorating already stated demands of workers.”
KLM cancels flights as crowds jam Amsterdam's Schiphol - AFP
Dutch national carrier KLM cancelled dozens of weekend flights Friday at Schiphol airport, hit hard by a strike and staff shortages as it struggles to cope with pre-coronavirus passenger numbers.
The airline axed 47 single and return flights on Saturday and Sunday, after cutting 28 return flights on Friday following an urgent plea by the airport, seen as a major gateway to Europe.
"The cancellations should contribute to Schiphol's request to keep operations at the airport manageable because of staff shortages," KLM said in a statement.
"These cancellations in KLM's flight schedule also contribute to reducing the workload" for its own staff, the airline said.
Schiphol -- Europe's busiest airport in terms of aircraft movements in 2019 when more than 70 million passengers passed through its gates -- saw numbers plunge during the coronavirus pandemic.
But after the Dutch government dropped its last major Covid-19 restrictions in mid-March, passenger numbers once again took off, peaking around the Easter weekend which was still continuing.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) condemned Schiphol's request to airlines as "outrageous".
"Passengers book flights weeks or months in advance," IATA told the Dutch news agency ANP. "Some of them will have to cancel their holiday plans."
Dozens of flights were delayed last Saturday after some KLM ground staff walked out in a wildcat strike to protest staff shortages and long working hours.
The strike came on the first day of the May school holidays, with many families going on holiday for the first time since coronavirus restrictions were dropped.
Airlines "have complied with Schiphol's request to allow fewer passengers to travel this weekend because of the crowds", the airport said in a statement.
"The crowds are caused by the May holidays and the personnel shortages in the aviation sector," it said.
The airport said it would have talks with airlines on Sunday to discuss the problem.
Meanwhile, at least one travel company has moved operations to the nearby and less busy Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
Sydney House Prices Slide Further in April as Rate Rise Looms - BLOOMBERG
(Bloomberg) -- Sydney home prices declined for a third straight month in April, weighing on national property values as buyers hunkered down ahead of expected interest-rate increases.
Sydney recorded a 0.2% drop, while Melbourne was flat, CoreLogic Inc. said in a report Monday. Prices still advanced across the nation’s other major cities, gaining a monthly 0.3%, as these markets tend to lag the two largest ones.
Australia, like much of the developed world, recorded significant property gains through the pandemic after the Reserve Bank slashed rates to near zero to help prop up the economy. But rising expectations of policy tightening in the months ahead, together with already very high house prices, is beginning to cool buyer ardor.
“With the RBA cash rate set to rise, potentially as early as tomorrow, we are likely to see a further loss of momentum in housing conditions over the remainder of the year,” said Tim Lawless, research director at CoreLogic. “As the cash rate rises, variable mortgage rates will also trend higher, reducing borrowing capacity and impacting borrower serviceability assessments.”
Australian Policy Makers Take Election Center Stage in Rate Call
The central bank meets on Tuesday and is widely expected to hike its cash rate by 15 basis points to 0.25%, the first increase since 2010.
Today’s report showed annual growth in home values slowed to 16.7% over the 12 months through April, from a recent peak of 22.2% for the year through November 2021.
China’s Lockdowns Wreak Havoc on Economy as Xi Pledges Support - BLOOMBERG
(Bloomberg) -- China’s stringent lockdowns to curb Covid infections are taking a significant toll on the economy and roiling global supply chains, with President Xi Jinping under pressure to deliver on pledges to support growth.
The damage from shutdowns in April in major financial hub Shanghai, auto manufacturing center Changchun and elsewhere was laid bare by the first official data for the month released over the weekend. Both manufacturing and services activity plunged to their worst levels since February 2020, when the nation shut down to contain the first coronavirus outbreak, according to purchasing managers surveys.
Read more: China Maintains Covid Fight as Virus Lockdowns Pummel Economy
The strain on global supply chains is also becoming apparent, with the PMI data showing suppliers face the longest delays in more than two years in delivering raw materials to their manufacturing customers. Inventories of finished goods climbed to the highest level in more than a decade, while indexes for exports and imports slumped.
The figures came a day after the Communist Party’s Politburo, led by Xi, promised to meet its economic targets while at the same time sticking with its Covid Zero policy to curb infections. Economists see the two goals as contradictory, with many cutting their growth projections to well below the government’s official target of around 5.5%.
“I expect GDP growth in the second quarter to turn negative, as lockdowns will likely be on and off,” said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. “The key issue going forward is how the government will fine-tune its ‘zero tolerance’ policy to mitigate the economic damage.”
Nevertheless, the Politburo’s comments -- which were timed during the trading day -- fueled a rally in stocks and the currency, with technology shares surging on signs of a possible easing of a regulatory crackdown on internet platform companies. Investors were also encouraged by comments suggesting a loosening of property restrictions and a push to boost infrastructure investment.
Xi appeared to soften his stance toward the private sector, telling the Politburo meeting that the healthy development of private capital should be encouraged. At the same time, he said capital must be regulated and shouldn’t undermine the objectives of common prosperity.
The pledges by top leaders came as omicron virus outbreaks continue to spread, with growing fears of a lockdown in Beijing. The capital city tightened Covid requirements over the weekend after more infections were reported following rounds of mass testing of its 22 million population.
Citizens are now required to provide negative nucleic acid test results within 48 hours in order to enter any public venue during the five-day Labor Day holiday. Dining-in at restaurants is banned during the period, and indoor venues including theaters, internet cafes and gyms will suspend operations. The Universal Studios theme park in Beijing also announced it would temporarily close from Sunday to comply with epidemic prevention measures.
In Shanghai, where large swaths of the population have been locked down for a month or more, the government announced on Sunday that six districts met the criteria for zero community spread of Covid-19 and can loosen restrictions. Zero community spread means reporting no local Covid infections for three consecutive days and if the new daily case counts are less than 0.001% of the area’s population for the same period.
As manufacturer to the world, the lockdowns in China mean possible shortages of goods and add another risk to global inflation. Despite repeated calls from the authorities to ensure smooth logistics, container goods were still left sitting at Shanghai’s port for weeks.
“There was plenty of evidence of worsening supply pressures,” Mitul Kotecha, head of emerging markets strategy at TD Securities, wrote in a note. “While there has been some gradual easing in some cities and provinces, manufacturing has struggled due to logistical and supply chain pressures.”
The economy is also losing the one strong pillar that had helped drive its recovery from the 2020 lockdowns. The PMI survey released Saturday showed the new export order sub-index plunged deeper into contraction to its worst level in nearly two years, while the import sub-index was the lowest since February 2020.
Activity is likely to remain depressed throughout the second quarter as virus restrictions are tightened in several places. The fear of widespread outbreaks has ruined the prospect of a bump in consumption during the five-day Labor Day break, which is usually one of the busiest seasons for domestic tourism.
A 7.9% contraction in gross domestic product in Jilin province in the first quarter is also a warning sign on the kind of damage other regions can expect. The northeastern province of Jilin, of which Changchun is the capital, was locked down in March, and restrictions are only now starting to be lifted.
“We remain deeply concerned about growth,” Nomura Holdings Inc. economists wrote in a note. “Despite the raft of policy measures announced by the Politburo meeting, we still believe markets should remain focused on the development of the pandemic and the corresponding Zero Covid strategy. All other polices are of secondary importance.”
Canada's economy 'overheating,' higher rates needed -Macklem - REUTERS
By Julie Gordon and Steve Scherer
OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada's economy is overheating, creating domestic inflationary pressures, and higher interest rates are needed to cool things down, the head of the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday.
Governor Tiff Macklem, testifying to a Senate committee, said interest rates may need to go above the neutral rate range - currently estimated to be between 2% and 3% - for a period of time to get inflation back to target.
"If you boil it down, the economy is overheating. That's creating domestic inflationary pressures. We need to cool growth, to cool inflation," Macklem said.
"It's going to be delicate," he added. "But we do need to raise interest rates to moderate that spending growth and get inflation back to target."
The Bank of Canada increased interest rates by a rare 50 basis points earlier this month, and Macklem has signaled that the central bank will likely consider a second oversized hike at its next meeting, on June 1.
How high rates go will depend on how the economy responds to increases and on the inflation outlook, Macklem reiterated.
"It's possible that we may have to go above the neutral rate for a period of time to return inflation to target, but it's a bit above 2 or 3%, it's not 7% or 8%," he said, when pressed on whether rates could return to levels seen decades ago.
"That reflects the fact that inflation expectations are well anchored," he added.
Canada's inflation rate hit a 31-year high of 6.7% in March.
(Reporting by Julie Gordon in OttawaEditing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler)
Inflation: Transport Fare In Q1 Highest In February - DAILY TRUST
By Faruk Shuaibu
The average price Nigerians pay for transportation in 2022 skyrocketed in February, reports by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have shown.
Similarly, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 1.18 per cent; month-on-month from N470.83 in December, 2021 to N476.39 in January, 2022. While a journey by motorcycle per drop increased by 2.58 per cent month-on-month from N332.37 in December, 2021 to N340.94 in January, 2022. The fare paid for water transport in January, 2022, stood at N888.24; showing an increase of 0.77.
For February, the air fare increased by 16.88 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N38,352.19 in January, 2022 to N44,825.04 in February. On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 22.95 per cent (N36,458.11) in February, 2021.
Intercity transportation stood at N3,106.72 in February, 2022, an increase of 10.90 per cent on from the N2,801 in January. While it rose by 30.93 per cent (N2,372.87) year-on-year in February, 2021.
Bus journey within the city per drop increased by 5.00 per cent on a month-on-month from N476.39 in January, 2022 to N500.20 in February, 2022. But commuters had to pay a 38.44 per cent from N361.31 in February, 2021 to N500.20 in February, 2022.
For motorcycle per drop, there was an increase of 11.20 per cent month-on-month from N340.94 in January to N379.12 in February, 2022. While it rose by 42.13 per cent from N266.74 in February, 2021 to N379.12 in February, 2022. Water transport also increased to N913, a 2.80 per cent month-on-month but 15.0 per cent from N794.02 in February, 2021 to N913.13 in February, 2022.
In March, air fare increased by 4.43 per cent month-on-month from N44,825.04 in February, 2022 to N 46,810.62 in March, 2022. On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 28.26 per cent (N36,495.41) in March, 2021.
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