Hard landing? Competition watchdog orders Fly540 to stop flight bookings
Budget carrier Fly540 will not advertise or book flights for passengers until a litany of piling cases of customer complaints are heard and determined.
In a notice to the public on Wednesday, the Competition Authority of Kenya barred the low-cost airline from making further online flight booking advertisements or receiving bookings from the public or travel agents citing persistent consumer infringements by the company.
Some of the allegations against Fly540 include false and misleading information about the airline’s capability to provide air transport services to travelers and the possibility of customers changing flight itineraries.
Fly540, which claims to run low-cost airtravel in Kenya, South Sudan and Zanzibar, was also faulted for arbitrary and or short notice cancellation of flights besides inordinate delays in offering refunds to affected customers.
“Fly540 is hereby directed to, with immediate effect, cease and desist from advertising flight bookings through electronic, print, and social media or receiving any flight bookings from the public or from travel agents until the ongoing investigations are completed.
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“Fly540 has also been ordered to refund customers with outstanding ticket refund claims by 30th November 2022,” the antitrust watchdog said in a statement.
The airline is now under investigation with a view to establishing whether its business practices were in breach of section 55 of the Competition Act of 2010 which outlaws false and misleading misrepresentation as well as section 56 on unconscionable conduct in its business.
In July, Fly540 partnered with AeroCRS, a travel solutions company focused on helping airlines expand their regional sales reach, to improve the low-cost carrier’s distribution and retailing strategy.
Fly540 leveraged AeroCRS to drive revenue through online travel agencies, meta-search engines, and other aggregators.
“As Fly540 moves back into regional flights following the disruption of Covid-19, we see AeroCRS as a strategic partner to improve our distribution and retailing strategies,” said Don Smith, Fly540 CEO.
