I really dont think the two issues are in anyway linked- stand allocation, yes its important but at the end of the day airlines concerend can still operate if they have to bus pax etc- whats happening here is commercial sabotage. All carriers should have the same restrictions.
Yes, perhaps SAA is getting some of its own medicine for its errrant ways in the past and should to a certain extent have to do some sucking up but this doesnt only involve SAA- what about all the other carriers? can CE sustain this sort of thing?
If this situation is going to last for 18 months then one cannot see the BAA not getting sued by one or two carriers- thats going to get quite interesting.
There has also been talk of JIA going through some fuel shortages in the near future- if this were to happen and the proposed contingency plans were not sucessful- one wonders if BA and VS are going to be "short changed" in favour of SA's local carriers.