Agent support vital for fastjet’s future

THE travel agent is
essential for the future
of fastjet,” Sylvain Bosc,
fastjet chief commercial officer
told TNW in an exclusive
interview about his new role
at the airline and his plans for
the future.
Sylvain said that fast
tracking distribution through
the trade was the first thing
he did when he took up his
position at fastjet.
“Airlines can’t reach the
business traveller if they
don’t sell through the travel
agent. And, you can’t survive
without the business traveller,
so the first decision I made
when I joined fastjet was to
switch to a new IT structure:
a passenger service system
that handles all the inventory
and distribution. I did this
specifically because I wanted
to connect to the GDS and
to the travel agencies. We’ve
been launching distribution
through Amadeus for the
trade. Very soon, we’ll be on
all three major GDSs. I’m
100% convinced that there will
be no success if the trade is
not behind us.”
Sylvain says a pure lowcost
model that excludes the
trade can’t work in Africa and
that a hybrid model is the
answer. “Some of the airline’s
capacity must be marketed
through travel agencies and
some through codeshare and
interline partnerships.”
Fastjet already has interline
agreements with Emirates,
but Sylvain reveals that fastjet
expects to sign interline
agreements with some of
the world’s most respected
airlines. “During the next year,
we want to be in two or three
more countries in Africa.”
Expansion in South Africa
is still on the cards: “There
is no bigger market in Africa
than South Africa. So, this
is definitely a market we are
still considering. However, the
SA market is also extremely
competitive. It’s a doubleedged
sword,” says Sylvain.
Although fastjet has
experienced financial
difficulties this past year,
Sylvain is confident the airline
will be able to re-establish
its trust amongst the trade
and customers. “Since
the appointment of Nico
Bezuidenhout as ceo, the
appropriate steps have been
taken to rationalise the
business. We’re now offering
a much smaller network,
allowing us to demonstrate
to our shareholders that we
deserve their trust and that we
can achieve profitability.”
In his new role, Sylvain will
develop the fastjet brand
across Africa and open new
bases for the airline.
“I thoroughly enjoy
developing new markets.
When you open a new route,
you’re enabling positive
development, new trade and
new tourism opportunities.
New routes can change the
lives of many people, allowing
them to see their families and
friends. That’s something very
few businesses can do, but air
transport can. It’s rewarding to
be part of that story.”