Questions over World Cup airfare probe

Pretoria - Two weeks before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, no decision has been reached about the Competition Commission’s investigation into the principal airlines.

The alleged collusion between BA/Com­air, South African Airways (SAA), 1Time, Mango, SA Airlink and SA Express was raised by the commission in January.

At the time a spokesperson said the commission hoped to complete the investigation before the tournament.

The airlines are alleged to have colluded in terms of pricing and strategies for the duration of the  World Cup.

At the beginning of the probe, the commission said the fact that SAA had applied for indemnity was a strong indication that something was happening.

Four months later the commission executed a raid on the offices of SAA, low-cost airline Mango and the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA).

Keith Weeks, head of legal enforcement at the commission, said it would be unwise to say anything about the status of SAA’s application for indemnity at this stage.

Extensive digital information seized during the raid still has to be processed, and certain legal processes also had to be followed before the commission could begin sifting through the information.

These include submitting the documents to external legal experts to clear up privilege  issues.

According to 1Time CEO Rodney James, the group has not heard a word since the investigation began. The silence following the January allegations has been confirmed by Mango and BA/Comair.

Spokespeople for both airlines said they are unaware of any progress in the investigation. James told Sake24 1Time had handed the commission a fairly bulky document with the information that it had requested.

It had also handed over a sworn statement, setting out the airline’s pricing policy and management of returns.

Airline ticket prices have fallen significantly since the beginning of the investigation. According to 1Time, this is attributable to market conditions. At first there was talk of 450 000 visitors, then 350 000 and now 250 000.

There is no real activity in the market, said the airline. It is concerned that the corporate market will take too long to realise it can fly during the tournament. James said 1Time is being swamped with ridiculous offers of cheap packages from hotel groups.

- Sake24.com