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South African Competition Appeal Court upholds Tribunal decision against SAA

On 11 April 2011 the Competition Appeal Court of South Africa upheld the finding by the Competition Tribunal that South African Airways (SAA) had abused its dominant position in the South African airline market during the period 2001 to 2005. The anti-competitive conduct consisted of the offer of exclusionary incentive schemes to domestic travel agents, at the expense of rival carriers. The complaint was brought by SAA's two main competitors in the domestic airline market, Comair and Nationwide.

A CRA team including Giulio Federico, Bob Stillman, Elina Koustoumpardi, Jenny Haydock and Pierre Regibeau advised Comair throughout the investigation of the case and in the appeal before the Competition Appeal Court. Giulio Federico acted as the expert witness for Comair during the Competition Tribunal hearings on the matter, in March 2008 and in March 2009. In its judgment, the Appeal Court found that the Tribunal was correct in its finding that SAA's conduct had significant anti-competitive effects on Comair, relying on the evidence presented by CRA, including evidence on Comair's cross-sectional share of travel agent sales and on the evolution of its revenues and yields during the relevant period.

The Competition Appeal Court's judgment is available here.

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