Numerous calls to President Jacob Zuma's hotline by ordinary South Africans have sparked a price-fixing investigation into South Africa's major airlines that has rocked the industry.

The Competition Commission announced yesterday afternoon that it is probing SAA, BA/Comair, which includes Kulula.com and British Airways domestic, 1Time, SA Airlink, SA Express and Mango. They have been accused of colluding on ticket prices and discussing pricing strategies for flights during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

The investigation follows calls by the office of the president's inter-ministerial committees - chaired by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe - for the commission to look into complaints that airlines were colluding to hike fares during the soccer showcase.

South African Airways - which was found guilty of price fixing in 2006 - approached the commission with information implicating other airlines.

SAA asked for "prosecutorial leniency" in exchange for evidence that includes e-mail correspondence that allegedly proves "airlines might adjust their airfares ahead of the World Cup".

Zukile Nomvete, head of the 2010 government co-ordinating unit in the Presidency, welcomed the investigation.

"Through the presidential hotline we received numerous complaints regarding the price of air tickets during the World Cup, and took the initiative to ask the Competition Commission to look into it," he said.

"We hope the commission will resolve this matter timeously to ensure that this does not prove detrimental to the tournament and to tourist attraction."

Tembinkosi Bonakele, the commission's deputy commissioner, said SAA's application prompted the official investigation. He would not comment on the strength of SAA's evidence.

"Should the airlines be found guilty, we will ask the Commission Tribunal to give them a maximum penalty, which is 10% of each company's annual turnover from the previous financial year," he said.

Bonakele said the commission was keeping an eye on other companies that stood to make massive profits from the World Cup. "We are also concerned that there might be widespread colluding by different opportunistic companies," he said. "We released a statement to send out a strong message that anyone who opportunistically exploits consumers during the World Cup will be prosecuted."

In a statement, SAA spokeswoman Vimla Maistry said: "SAA can confirm that we submitted a leniency application in December last year to the Competition Commission after having received correspondence related to pricing during the World Cup period.

"SAA undertook to fully co-operate with the commission in exchange for leniency from prosecution under the Competition Act. SAA can further confirm that discussions with the commission relating to the application are under way and that the airline has the full intention of complying with the legislation."

Rodger Foster, chief executive of SA Airlink, said he was "dismayed" that his airline had been implicated.

He said it had received an e-mail from a Comair employee allegedly offering to co-ordinate strategies ahead of the tournament, but that his firm had not responded.

"We fully intend to determine our own pricing strategies for flights that will take place during the World Cup, and we will do that without any form of co-ordination with our competitors," he said.

Comair spokeswoman Heidi Brauer vehemently dismissed Foster's claim about the e-mail, saying it was "absolutely unfounded". Brauer said the commission's press statement caught the company by surprise.

"Comair neither practises nor supports any form of collusion and will co-operate fully with the Competition Commission once the complaint has been received," she said.

"It is not an acceptable practice. If we colluded, maybe we'd be making more money right now."

Rodney James, chief executive of 1Time, said it did not discuss its prices with other airlines.

It was "annoying" that SAA was involved in another scandal "at the taxpayer's expense", he said.

The airlines' denials are not being bought by travel agents.

Amanda Hardy, spokeswoman for Flight Centre South Africa, said news of the investigation did not come as a surprise. "We know that the flight pricing over the World Cup is not what we, as one of the largest travel retailers in South Africa, are used to," she said.

"Feedback from our clients over the past months has indicated how unreasonable the June-July airfares are and this has cost us valuable travel business."

In 2006, SAA was slapped with a R55-million fine after it was found guilty on three charges of anti-competitive behaviour, including one of price-fixing with German carrier Lufthansa.

SAA, SA Express, Comair and SA Airlink were found guilty at the time of colluding to fix an identical fuel surcharge levy on tickets for both domestic and international flights.

Rich Mkhondo, 2010 local organising committee spokesman, said the investigation was a matter between the commission and airlines, but he hoped it would be resolved to everybody's satisfaction. - Additional reporting by Sally Evans