On Monday morning, the Competition Commission is scheduled to recommence legal proceedings against Airlink over the airline’s allegedly excessive and predatory pricing with testimony from financial experts.
The commission contacted the Competition Tribunal after investigating complaints regarding the airline’s pricing practices on the route between Johannesburg and Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
From September 2012 to August 2016, Airlink is accused of violating the Competition Act and exploiting its dominant position by charging excessive prices, to the detriment of consumers.
The Competition Commission also accused the airline of exploitative pricing for lowering its prices from August to December 2016, resulting in the 2017 departure of Fly Blue Crane, a competitor on the route.
Fly Blue Crane entered the South African domestic airline market in 2015, providing low-cost flights to Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Kimberley, Cape Town, and George, and expanded to Mthatha in 2016.