FlySafair grilled for price gouging in the wake of Comair grounding

FlySafair is scrambling to save its reputation as numerous irate stranded passengers have accused the low-cost airline of price gouging.

Thousands of passengers around the country have been stranded since the weekend.

The SA Civil Aviation Authority suspended Comair’s operations indefinitely after failing to convince the authority that its risk and safety management systems are up to scratch.

Comair operates Kulula and British Airways aviation business in South Africa. 

Several irate passengers have reported that FlySafair flight prices have almost trebled in the wake of the Comair crisis, with many calling for the Competition Commission to investigate.

Some passengers posted screengrabs of the airline‘s price increases, accompanied by a warning of a looming price increase.

But FlySafair insists that it is not making hay while the sun shines.

“FlySafair, like other airlines around the world, uses a system called ‘demand-based pricing’. As the seats start to sell out, they become incrementally more expensive,” said the airline in a tweet.

“Our fares remain nice and low provided you book ahead and remain flexible on your travel dates and times,” said FlySafair.

The aviation authority said it was fully committed to ensuring that the Comair operator is back in the skies, adding that it has a 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 to ensure that South Africa maintains its safety record of having ZERO fatal airline accidents in over thirty years on South African soil,” said the aviation authority.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), as the majority union at Comair, has announced it will be picketing outside the air operators’ offices demanding that the board remove its CEO Glenn Orsmond.

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