Mango Airlines (MNO, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) South Africa's Competition Commission says it has launched an investigation into South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) and its Mango Airlines (MNO, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) LCC subsidiary for alleged anti-competitive practices.

The announcement comes after an SAA public disclosure, issued earlier this month, alluded to the carrier having leased ten B737-800s to Mango at sub-market rates. Though the state-owned airline subsequently issued another statement claiming that in fact, the leases were concluded on a full cost recovery basis, the CC now wants to determine the extent to which Mango benefited from SAA's assistance to the detriment of both consumers as well as rival operators.

For their part, Kulula Air (Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) and FlySafair (FA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) have welcomed the investigation, triggered by the opposition Democratic Alliance, stating that it will now provide the market, and the public at large, with clear evidence on an otherwise murky issue.

The investigation is expected to be completed within the next twelve months with a ruling to be issued thereafter.