'Shocking' airline deal slammed

Johannesburg - The National Consumer Forum (NCF) is dismayed at the anti-competitive behaviour emerging from the country's airline industry.

In a statement on Friday, it said it was shocked that airline 1time was struggling to get access to Lanseria Airport near Johannesburg.

Comair has an agreement with Lanseria airport that only its budget airline Kulula can use the airport for its regional and domestic flights during the five years to March 2011.

"Coming hot on the heels of the Competition Commission's concerns about airline collusion in the run-up to the Fifa World Cup, this is a disturbing incident for consumers," NCF chairperson Thami Bolani said.

He said the airline industry was one in which more competition in recent years had delivered good prices and generally acceptable service levels for travellers.

"It was our hope that the airline industry could be a beacon of hope for consumers, to show how competition can help raise the bar while keeping prices reasonable."

Bolani said the anti-competitive behaviour uncovered by the Competition Commission since its inception ten years ago had opened consumers' eyes to the scourge of price-fixing in many sectors of the economy.

"We are faced with pricing issues in the energy sector and in telecommunications, making effective competition one of South Africa's most urgent priorities," he said.

"If we cannot create an environment in which business must compete on both quality and price, we face little prospect of an affordable future for consumers," Bolani said.

- Sapa