FlySafair has called on the National Consumer Commission (NCC) to widen its investigation into the airline’s overbooking practices to other airlines operating in the country.
According to Kirby Gordon, the airline’s spokesperson, overbooking is a standard and globally accepted practice used by airlines to manage operations efficiently, mitigate the financial impact of no-show passengers and keeping air travel affordable.
If a flight is overbooked, and all passengers show up, the airlines have to find volunteers to give away their seats. In exchange, they can offer vouchers, miles or other compensation options. If no volunteers are found, airlines must deny boarding to some passengers for the plane to depart.
The investigation follows a number of complaints by passengers both to the commission and on social media.
Some governments are considering regulations which would restrict this long-established practice of overbooking, where airlines, in some cases, book more passengers on a flight than the number of seats available.
FlySafair overbooks flights to a maximum of about 1% of their capacity, equating to no more than two seats per flight, said Gordon. Over the past 10 months, data shows that only 0.0006% of customers were denied boarding due to overbooking, he said.
“We are fully prepared to engage constructively with the NCC, providing all required information and context to assist their investigation,” Gordon said in a statement on Thursday.
“However, we firmly believe this process must include a holistic review of the practices of all airlines operating in SA, both local and international, to ensure the findings are fair, balanced and in the best interest of consumers.”
SAA declined to comment on the issue while Airlink said it did not overbook. But Lift said it only did so “occasionally on larger capacity aircraft during low-demand periods”.
FlySafair said it was confident its policies and practices were compliant with the Consumer Protection Act. “Therefore, it is of the view that it is crucial for the NCC investigation to be conducted “fairly and contextually”.
On Friday, the NCC told Business Day it was investigating the airline based on the commission’s market monitoring observations. It said other airlines would be investigated if reported.
“Flying with empty seats benefits no-one, whereas allowing airlines to overbook flights creates more choice and cheaper fares for consumers, and allows carriers to better manage revenue. It is a long-established and well-managed industry practice all over the world,” International Air Transport Association (Iata) spokesperson Chris Goater said.
FlySafair has also been in the news recently for an investigation into its ownership structure.
In December 2024, the International Air Services Council ruled that the airline’s shareholding structure was not compliant with the relevant laws of the country. Earlier the Air Services Licensing Council also made a similar ruling.
No sanction has as yet been imposed.
SA law requires that voting rights in a local airline must be substantially held by residents of the country, yet the annual financial statements of the Ireland-based company ASL Aviation Holdings indicate that FlySafair is controlled by and is a subsidiary of ASL.
It said ASL owns 74.86% of the airline. Throughout the inquiry, FlySafair's stance has been that “on the basis of senior legal support” it believes its company’s structure remained within the bounds of both the letter and spirit of the law.
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