15 responses to “Collusion?”

1. 

   Helmo Preuss

   14 years Ago

   Can you please check whether SAA and 1time have not been swapped in your article on collusion.

   • Reply
   1. 

      amnon

      14 years Ago

      No. The fact is correct as it stands. We have screenshots to back this up.

      • Reply
2. 

   Gina

   14 years Ago

   Any chance you could do the same for car rentals?

   • Reply
   1. 

      amnon

      14 years Ago

      Not a bad idea. The problem is that it will be difficult to compare like with like given all the different options, e.g. insurance, free kms, etc.

      • Reply
3. 

   Jonathan

   14 years Ago

   The prices charged by Kulula (R769) and SAA (R882) are far more reasonable than I had expected, I thought they would all be more in line with the price being charged by BA (R4929).

   • Reply
4. 

   Claire

   14 years Ago

   July 9th is a Friday. According to travelstart.co.za, the cheapest British Airways flight this Friday (5th Feb) from Cape Town to Johannesburg would cost R793 (incl. taxes). The flight during the world cup is is over 6 times more than this!

   • Reply
5. 

   Charlie

   14 years Ago

   Mmmm, Kulula is owned by Comair (BA). A bit of cross subsidization happening here. They can easily afford to be the cheapest low cost carrier charging nearly 5K a ticket on BA. There are also far more BA aircraft than Kulula Aircraft therefore more seats sold on BA. They are making more money per ticket than all the carriers. I say buy shares in Comair, you will get a nice return on them after the WC which will help pay for your airline ticket:).

   • Reply
6. 

   Terry Roe

   14 years Ago

   Giving someone a fair deal while making a fair profit is what makes for true, ongoing success and restful nights. Where selfish, impatient greed and no conscience exists, disaster stands patiently waiting at the door that could have led to great, ultimate success.

   • Reply
7. 

   Tom

   14 years Ago

   I have worked for one of these airlines and can say I know a fair amount about pricing. This stat is extremely subjective and may only mean that a particular carrier might have sold a lot of seats already (Prices tend to go up as a plane fills up). It also says nothing of what the rest of their inventory is priced at or pricing strategy to come.

   Ps. Travelstart is by no means a fair engine. Like the travel agents they butter their bread according to the whims of the airline that gives them the biggest slice of the pie.

   Ps. Charlie, Comair uses the same fleet for both brands. Yes some are BA painted and some painted Kulula but in the end you can end up on either, it is a simple game of economics. Unlike SAA Comair is a for profit organisation so there is going to be a lot less fancy footwork and really no incentive to make a BA pax pay for the Kulula pax.

   Ps. Airlines run on supply and demand, if the demand is low interest is stimulated by lowering prices. When demand is high prices go up. Look at the overall profit margin of airlines. As Warren Buffet described himself as an “airohlic”. Not even he could make lots of money out of flying. It is a low margin game. An interesting question I have heard no one ask is what did the Germans pay for plane tickets during the WC ???? If there are similar pricing trends in SA then you can hardly blame SA’s airlines for making a decent profit for a change.

   • Reply
   1. 

      amnon

      14 years Ago

      When I did the research for this fact, I went direct to the airlines’ websites, so your Travelstart comments aren’t relevant here. I think the difference in prices reflect a different strategy for filling up the planes. Kulula seems to want to fill up the planes well in advance, so is offering seats on the cheap, where BA is prepared to go the high risk route and have plenty of seats available (at much higher prices) closer to departure.

      • Reply
8. 

   Tom

   14 years Ago

   Someone else referred to TravelStart prices in another post. I dont think it is relevant either for the reasons mentioned.

   If your theory is true then the CompCom’s investigation may just be a waste of time.

   • Reply
9. 

   Sean Cannon

   14 years Ago

   Spot checked two of the prices. Notwithstanding Tom’s knowledgable replies, this is an accurate representation of the status quo at this moment in time in the eyes of a person, travelling that route, buying a solo ticket.

   I’ve never flown Kulula. Domestic flights have always been Nationwide (RIP), Mango or 1Time (for price only). Comfort/service and other NTH’s don’t concern me on such a short flight (though I would probably not buy SRO).

   As far as BA is concerned, perhaps the SA market is not their target market? I’ve flown privately on SQ in business class, because it would have cost me a lot more to change class at the end of a business trip if I’d changed class to economy. Therefore perhaps BA will offer a minor price differential for those extending a trip or buying multiple trips from London?

   But, 80/20’s research is accurate and decries any attempt at finding collusion, but may, on the part of 1Time at least show a little greed.

   Cheers

   • Reply
10. 

    Sean Cannon

    14 years Ago

    Sorry – NTH = Nice-to-Have. SRO = Standing Room Only.

    • Reply
    1. 

       Pete

       14 years Ago

       And SQ?

       • Reply
       1. 

          Sean Cannon

          14 years Ago

          Sorry Pete. SQ is the airline code for Singapore Airlines.

          • Reply