Competition Commission accuses Airlink of aggressive behavior

'Airline's pricing strategy between 2012 and 2016 forced rival Fly Blue Crane out of market'

- BANELE GININDZA

THE Competition Commission has accused regional airline Airlink of aggressive and exclusionary conduct on the Johannesburg-Mthatha route, alleging that its pricing strategy between 2012 and 2016 forced rival Fly Blue Crane (FBC) out of the market and cost consumers more than R100 million in inflated fares.

In the ongoing hearing at the Competition Tribunal, economist Jason Aproskie argued that Airlink had demonstrated its ability to sustain prolonged losses to keep competitors at bay.

He pointed to the JohannesburgNamibia route, where Airlink recorded losses for 35 out of 36 months, as evidence of its capacity to remain in unprofitable markets in order to outlast rivals.

"Which shows its ability to sort of remain in that territory. If it was engaging in this conduct against a more efficient operator, it shows that it can sustain losses for a long period of time," Apriskie said.

He added that FBC's decision to set low fares to gain market share did not make it responsible for its exit, suggesting instead that Airlink's behaviour made survival on the route impossible.