South Africa and Mexico will open the 2010 Fifa World Cup at Soccer City, Johannesburg, next June. (Photo Courtesy Lefty Shivambu/ Gallo Images /FIFA LOC)

Johannesburg — THE prices of available airline tickets for flights to SA during next year's World Cup have spiked in recent weeks as travellers scramble to secure a seat.

Many airlines are either holding back seats until the World Cup schedule is finalised on December 4 or are already close to being sold out, leading to a surge in prices.

However, the spike is likely to be short-lived as airlines will release extra seats after the draw in Cape Town. The draw will determine when and where each team will play, allowing airlines to finalise their World Cup plans.

Sue Botes, commercial manager of British Airways in SA, said many flights, particularly near the start and end of the tournament, were sold out and only seats in the higher category were available.

" The highest rate BA will charge for any economy seat is £3449, our full economy fare . We opened all our flights after England qualified ... and will only decide how much extra capacity, if any, we will add over the World Cup after the draw ."

Vimla Maistry, South African Airways (SAA) spokeswoman said yesterday the airline had so far only made a small percentage of World Cup seats available and would supply the rest as soon as the draw was completed .

"At the same time SAA will be able to identify demand and will utilise the venue information to optimise its flight schedules and offer customers the best travel options during the World Cup."

Maistry said seats currently available for booking were in the highest inventory classes, with the best fares already sold out.

SAA plans to run a 24-hour operation during the World Cup, increasing the utilisation of its aircraft fleet to accommodate the different match times on each day and the constant flow of passengers expected as a result.

The airline is also in talks with its Star Alliance partners to provide aircraft . Lufthansa and Swissair have confirmed they are willing to make their long-haul aircraf, usually standing idle during the day at OR Tambo International Airport, available to SAA for use on domestic routes.