JSE-listed aviation company Comair, which operates the kulula.com and British Airways airlines in the Southern African region, has denied that there has been any collusion between local airlines around pricing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In a statement issued on Friday, the company “strongly denied” taking part in any collusive practice at any time.

This followed an announcement by the Competition Commission, on Thursday, that it would investigation allegations that British Airways/Comair, South African Airways (SAA), 1time, SA Airlink, Mango and SA Express were colluding on prices and pricing strategies ahead of the football event.

The commission’s probe followed a leniency application by SAA in December, in which the State-owned carrier undertook to fully cooperate with the commission in exchange for leniency from prosecution under the Competition Act.

According to Comair, its joint CEO Erik Venter had, last year, responded to an email from the Department of Transport (DoT), in which the DoT had advised the airlines that the matter of alleged excessive pricing by the airlines was to be raised at the Aviation Sub-Sector Task Team, in November.

"As I could not attend the meeting, the best that I could contribute to the debate was to set out Comair's concerns regarding the World Cup, so that DoT had the benefit of our views. At no stage have any meetings or discussions been held on working together on joint strategies,” Venter explained on Friday.

He noted that his email to the DoT had been forwarded to the media, on the assumption that this was the basis for the investigation by the commission.

“The email reflected textbook airline pricing principles that any commercial airline would implement, based on supply and demand, and cost recovery. There is no suggestion whatsoever, of non-standard practices.  In fact, the email clearly states that Comair expects airline ticket prices to fall once the airlines have implemented their extra capacity for the World Cup, and that the pricing is anticipated to average out at the level experienced over a typical South African peak holiday season,” said Venter.

Comair reiterated that its pricing over the 2010 FIFA World Cup period was managed as a function of supply and demand in the same way that its pricing was always done.

Nevertheless, Venter said that the aviation company was committed to a free market economy and would cooperate fully with the commission.

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