A number of airlines are being investigated following allegations relating to flight tickets to South Africa for the World Cup.
South Africa’s competition watchdog has reason to suspect that airlines were colluding over ticket prices, driving them to artificial highs for the peak travel periods around the event. A number of airlines are being implicated, including Comair, which is partly owned by British Airways.
Due to the huge distances involved, internal flights will be of huge importance throughout the competition. Extra flights are being put on, but many are complaining about lofty ticket prices.
It seems the policy of price-fixing was raised by one airline and South African Airways, which was found guilty of the same offence four years ago, then passed this correspondence on to the competition commission.
It is also alleged that many hotels in South Africa are raising their prices for the tournament as well, with some hotels said to be asking for more than five times their normal rate.