I was browsing flight options to Kigali for a quick trip, and I’m honestly floored. The cheapest economy ticket I could find for a short, ~2 hour (return)flight was sitting right around $650. Meanwhile, if you’re traveling around Europe, a flight of the exact same duration—or longer—routinely sets you back somewhere between €50 and €200 on Ryanair, Wizz Air, or EasyJet. You can basically cross three country borders for the price of a decent dinner. It feels so upside down that intra-Africa travel remains a luxury item for most people living here. Between: - Absurd airport taxes and landing fees that often double the actual base fare. - Protectionist bilateral air agreements that stop budget airlines from competing freely on regional routes. - Insane fuel markup/logistics costs at local hubs. - The fact that SAATM (Single African Air Transport Market) adoption is moving at a snail's pace. How are we supposed to build regional tourism, connect markets, or support trade when moving around our own backyard costs more than a transatlantic flight to London or Dubai? For those who travel regionally often: Are there any actual hacks to bypass these insane prices, or are we just stuck waiting for governments to finally open up the skies and drop the sky-high passenger taxes? What actually needs to change first?   submitted by   /u/Big-Information129 [link]   [comments]