Airlink lashes out at ‘dirty tricks’

THE gloves have come off
in the domestic aviation
market as competition
heats up.
FlyGoAir, which quietly
launched flights in June this
year, made serious allegations
against SA Airlink in a post
on Facebook, accusing
the established airline of
“industrial espionage”.
The post, which has since
been removed, claimed
that Airlink staff had been
caught on camera tampering
with FlyGoAir computers at
Pietermaritzburg Airport. It
stated: “FlyGoAir is considering
suspending all flights on this
route pending investigation.
We are led to believe that the
safety of our passengers and
staff may be compromised
by industrial espionage and
colluding anti-competitive
behaviour demonstrated by
Airlink in trying to maintain
monopolisation.”
Airlink ceo, Rodger Foster,
has reacted by saying they
are “wild, reckless and
sensationalist allegations
with no evidence to sustain
them.” Rodger told TNW that
he immediately dispatched
Airlink’s HR manager and
regional manager when he
was alerted to FlyGoAir’s
allegations by Pietermaritzburg
Airport.
After viewing the video
footage, Airlink concluded that
its employees had not done
anything wrong. Rodger says
the video footage shows two
employees leaning against the
FlyGoAir counter, attempting to
read a flyer with information on
FlyGoAir’s flight schedule and
at no point did the employees
attempt to tamper with
FlyGoAir’s computers. “It was
curiosity, not espionage!”
FlyGoAir is operating in a
cut-throat environment where
competition is tough, says
Rodger. “Desperate times
seem to call for desperate
measures. However, Airlink
is a business that has been
built on integrity. FlyGoAir’s
allegations are just dirty
tactics and dirty tricks.”
He says Airlink will not take
the accusations lightly and
has applied at the High Court
to obtain an injunction to stop
FlyGoAir from defaming the
Airlink brand with immediate
effect. The airline has also laid
an official defamation charge
against FlyGoAir. “We will not
sit back and have our name
defamed. We are proud of our
integrity and will protect it,” he
says. The date for the case
has been set for November 6.
FlyGoAir ceo, Reg Sivsanker,
told TNW he was unable to
comment until investigation
into the matter was
completed.