TRAVEL agents have
been summoned to
present information
to the South African
Competition Commission
as investigations into
Emirates’ trade override
deals intensify.
The Commission’s
complaint against
Emirates dates back to
April 7 last year when a
complaint was initiated
against Emirates Airline
for alleged contravention
of certain sections of the
Competition Act. “The
Commissioner alleges that
Emirates offers incentives
to travel agents to increase
ticket sales on any of
its destinations outside
South Africa. The first
aspect of the complaint
stems from allegations of
Emirates offering certain
travel agents economyclass
tickets to Dubai for
achieving a minimum of
10% growth in Emirates
sales,” the Commission
told TNW in a statement
last year.
“The second aspect
relates to a ‘switchON’
incentive through which
Emirates allegedly offers
travel agents a 20%
discount in respect of
passengers switched
from competing flights to
Emirates flights.
“The Commissioner alleges
that this conduct could
amount to inducing travel
agents not to deal with
Emirates’ competitors,
thereby hindering
competition in the market.”
One agent who preferred
to remain anonymous,
said they had been
called to Pretoria for
an interview with the
Competition Commission.
“We had to provide quite
a comprehensive set of
documentation relating
to our dealings with
international airlines, and
one international airline in
particular.”
The agent says that
during the interview a lot
of questions were asked
relating to the supplied
documentation, adding that
questions asked about
information supplied dated
as far back as a couple of
years ago.
“It was not obvious by
the type of questions they
were asking what they
were trying to establish
and at no point during the
interview did they disclose
what they were looking for.”
“There is nothing
untoward in our dealings
with Emirates,” says Allan
Lunz, md of BidTravel. He
does point out, however,
that the Middle Eastern
airlines are a threat to
traditional European
carriers. “Emirates flies
here four times a day so
I wouldn’t be surprised
if the other airlines
feel Emirates is taking
passengers away from
them. Although it’s
interesting to note that
Emirates is not always
the cheapest. Sometimes
Etihad and Qatar are
cheaper.”
When asked for
comment regarding
the Commission’s
investigations,
Emirates told TNW it
took compliance with
competition law very
seriously, and that the
airline was co-operating
fully with the Commission’s
enquiry.
