evanb

It's an entirely different scope and scale. The Oneworld transatlantic joint venture (TAJV) allows BA to coordinate schedules and cartel capacity and prices with Iberia, American Airlines and Finnair on all routes from North America, and in this case to South Africa. This is far more powerful and profitable than anything SAA has access to. Furthermore, BA also have access to a myriad of destinations through their local subsidiary Comair, including Cape Town, Durban, Harare, Livingston, Mauritius, Victoria Falls and Windhoek in addition to Mauritius, Nairobi and Luanda directly. Much of this capacity gets sold through the TAJV and provides a much higher yield. Comparing SAA's yield potential without the TAJV and BA's is not like comparing Coke and Pepsi, but more like giblets and foie gras!