Low-cost domestic carrier Flysafair found itself on the receiving end of backlash after its ticket prices suddenly sky-rocketed, following South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (SACAA) decision to ground Comair flights.
Why are Flysafair ticket prices suddenly expensive?
Comair operates Kulula.com and local British Airways flights and, this past weekend, the carrier was suspended from operating due to level 1 and level 2 concerns noted by SACAA following an inspection that took place on Saturday 12 March 2022.
Stranded passengers turned to Flysafair as an alternative option but were left gobsmacked when ticket prices averaged R3 000, more than half the original ask,
Frustrated customers took to social media, calling on the Competition Commission to intervene and, possibly, investigate the domestic carrier for possible infringements in its pricing structure which, at a glance, appears to have manipulated the demand that arose, following Comair’s suspension.
FlySafair is literally showing us what lack of competition does to prices.
— KayD 🤡 vol. 2.0.2.2 (@BrotherKD) March 14, 2022
Now imagine what competition would do to Eskom prices.
According to Flysafair, however, no wrongdoing was done on their part, since ticket price fluctuations are controlled by an algorithm that uses past data to determine demand trends on and around departure dates.
The low-cost airline explained, in a series of responses to irate passengers, that its “demand-based pricing” system allocates cheap prices on a first-come-first-serve basis, and once seats start filling up, the cost to secure a spot on a flight increases due to the pre-determined demand which usually spikes closer to the departure date.
“FlySafair, uses a system called “demand based pricing”. What this means is that the first seats on a flight, sell at the very lowest price, usually at a loss to the airline. As the seats start to sell out, they become incrementally more expensive,” the carrier noted.
Why were Comair flights grounded?
Initially, Comair’s suspension was expect to last for 24 hours, allowing SACAA enough time to review the carrier’s policies, systems and safety and security procedures following reports of life-threatening incidents.
However, towards the expiry of the temporary suspension, the aviation authority noted its decision to ground Comair flights indefinitely based on three level 1 threat alerts, and one other level 2 finding.
Level 1 findings, according to SACAA, indicate an immediate risk to safety, while a level 2 finding notes an issue that requires attention and must be addressed within seven days.
“The SACAA is fully committed to ensuring that the operator is back in the air and has dedicated a full team to assess and review the evidence as it gets submitted. The commitment to safety, in this case, supersedes any other need, and this is to ensure that South Africa maintains its safety record of having ZERO fatal airline accidents,” the aviation authority noted in a a statement.
At this time, Comair remains suspended indefinitely, scuppering efforts the carrier has made to re-establish control of the financial turbulence brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are doing everything possible to get the suspension lifted. We continue to engage constructively with the SACAA and are working hard to provide the CAA with the additional information it requires,” Comair CEO Glenn Orsmond said, on Sunday.