The South African press has been reporting more on the local airlines proposed airfares for the world cup period. Morning Live, the SABC 2 morning news programme, has started questioning why airfares during the tournament are three times higher than current prices, and has vowed to get airline management into the studio this week to explain.
Meanwhile, Kulula.com, the no-frills airline owned by British Airways in South Africa, has challenged all the other airlines in the country to lower their airfares during the world cup, saying it should not be seen as a "get-rich-quick" scheme. There is currently a Competition Commission investigation underway into price collusion among the airlines.
Other airlines have tried to hit back at Kulula saying that Kulula's fares out of Lanseria regional airport in Joburg's northern suburbs, where they have a sole mandate, are generally higher, but Kulula have responded that their Lanseria fares are usually less than their competitors' flights out of Johannesburg's OR Tambo international airport. 1Time Airline has challenged the exclusive agreement which allows only Kulula to fly out of Lanseria and has filed a complaint with the Competition Tribunal. 1Time says the Competition Commission found the agreement to be anti-competitive but had not referred their findings to the Tribunal, so they referred it themselves.
There is a lot more of this saga to come, but it puts soccer fans in a difficult position - do you book flights now to make sure you get the seats or do you wait to see if the airfares come down a bit?
Saturday, February 13, 2010
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