EARLIER this year,
Travelstart released
results of a study
indicating that new entrants
to the domestic aviation
market, FlySafair and
Skywise, had driven down
the cost of air tickets on
the routes they operate.
According to the study,
there was also a significant
increase in the number of
people flying domestically
since these airlines took off
in October 2014 and March
2015 respectively.
“We have found the
demand for air travel has
definitely increased and
this is largely because
it is much cheaper to fly
now,” says Travelstart
head of communications,
Russell Jarvis. On the
Johannesburg-Durban
route, for instance, in the
period January-June 2015,
capacity has increased
by 49% compared with
January-June 2014.
“When we started a year
ago, we had two aircraft.
We have now added a
fifth,” FlySafair ceo, Elmar
Conradie, told TNW at a
recent briefing. “In addition,
with the introduction of our
new Cape Town-Durban,
Cape Town-East London,
Johannesburg-Durban
and Johannesburg-East
London routes, we will be
connecting all the dots
on the domestic grid.
What we hope is that the
introduction of these new
destinations will drive
the fares down on those
destinations where we
haven’t been flying,” he
says.
However, another
Travelstart study has
questioned whether
airlines would be able
to sustain the low fares
currently being enjoyed
by passengers. Russell
argues that these low fares
could be detrimental to the
growth of the commercial
aviation industry.
“When you consider that
most airlines need to be
selling a seat for at least
R900 to R1 000 one way
and achieve a load factor
of 70% to 80% on each
flight that takes off just to
make a marginal return, it
stands to reason that the
low ticket prices available
at the moment will soon be
a thing of the past,” says
Russell.
Meanwhile, Lance Smith,
Avis executive director
of sales, told TNW that
loyalty programmes such
as Discovery Vitality and
FNB eBucks had also
contributed to the recent
increase in domestic travel
numbers, largely because
many members of these
programmes chose to
redeem their points for
travel. A good example
of this is the partnership
between kulula.com and
FNB’s eBucks, which offers
discounts on kulula flights.
Corporates have also
found reason to make
more regular use of LCCs.
Kim Parker, Wings Travel
Management head of
business development –
corporate: Sub-Saharan
Africa, says the TMC has
seen a definite increase in
the number of corporates
choosing low-cost carriers,
specifically for domestic
travel. “The number-one
reason for this is the costsaving
factor of domestic
low-fare airlines,” she says.
“The competitive airfares
are allowing corporates
to save on their direct
costs within their travel
programme at the point of
sale.”
While flying low cost
comes with certain
restrictions – such as
penalties with regard to
date and name changes,
infrequent flight schedules
and the limited routes
within the low-cost
carrier network – both
Kim and Russell believe
that the cost-saving
factor outweighs these
challenges. “Some clients,
who are not as cost
conscious, will not use
low-cost carriers for this
reason, however in our
experience at Wings, flying
on a low-cost carrier results
in significant savings and,
as such, corporates will
deal with the penalties for
changes as they occur,”
says Kim.
WHILE airlines continue to
break price boundaries to
edge one another out in
the race for passengers,
they have also been forced
to increase the value of
their offering. FlySafair and
Skywise start their fares
at R499 one way between
Johannesburg and Cape
Town, while the average
domestic fare on a kulula.
com or Mango flight could
easily cost roughly half of
that of their parent airlines.
Mango spokesperson,
Hein Kaiser, says LCCs
can remain competitive
by offering product
differentiators that drive
additional brand and
customer equity while still
keeping fares down.
“LCCs like Mango
compete beyond
price through product
differentiation – on-time
performance and legroom
– and ancillary
products and services
such as on-board WiFi and
pre-seating options, as
well as the introduction
of innovative technology
such as our mobi-site,”
says Hein. He adds that
Mango is the only airline to
offer mobile booking and
payment as well as checkin
across all major mobile
platforms.
“We recognise that being
a low-cost airline does
not mean we can offer an
inferior product and not
spend on aircraft. In fact,
we want to offer our own
superior product,” agrees
Elmar Conradie. He notes
that FlySafair will add
three new Boeing 737-800
aircraft to its fleet before
the end of November. The
airline will also replace its
seats with new slim-line
seats that will offer more
leg-room.
Meanwhile, Shaun Pozyn,
head of marketing for
kulula.com, says the airline
currently has the newest
and most fuel-efficient fleet
in the country, significantly
enhancing its ‘on-time’
proposition. “We can
certainly claim that in
terms of a fuel efficiency
per seat basis we are the
‘greenest’,” he says. “New
planes require much less
maintenance and are, as a
result, much more reliable.
The knock-on effect is
a huge improvement in
on-time efficiency.”
The airline also places
significant emphasis on
knowing what travellers
want and providing them
with greater choice
through a wide variety of
destinations. Shaun says
kulula provides an offering
that speaks to both leisure
and corporate travellers.
“The majority of corporate
travellers prefer to fly early
in the morning and then
return in the evening after
their meetings, therefore
we have numerous flights
operating during these
periods.”
South Africa’s newest
budget carrier, Skywise,
has also realised that, to
compete, airlines must
offer more than just a low
fare. “We offer value-added
services like free coffee,
VIP check-in and we will
soon be launching our
free shuttle service to and
from the airports on our
Wise Fare,” says Skywise
co-chairperson, J Malik.
Book it!
Unlock your share of 1 000
Club Red Roses when you
book discretionary rates
with Avis Van Rental during
October and November. You
could also stand a chance
of winning the R5 000 grand
prize adventure voucher.
Agents are reminded they
can redeem their Club Red
Roses for eBucks and online
vouchers and spend them on
whatever they want.
Did you know?
Kulula.com was rated the
top low-cost South African
airline according to a
recent industry report by
the South African Customer
Satisfaction Index. More
than 1 200 customers
were surveyed to evaluate
their satisfaction with the
domestic airline industry and
kulula emerged as the top
carrier, with a score of 71,5
out of 100.
Different strokes for
different folks
MORE travellers are making
the shift to the sharing
economy. Airbnb has seen
immense growth since its
launch in 2008, having
become a household name
with services available in
over 190 countries. The
platform offers travellers the
opportunity to live as a local,
either renting a room in the
home of a local citizen in the
country they are visiting, or
renting an entire property,
villa, yacht, treehouse
or castle for rates much
cheaper than those of a
hotel room.
Nicola D’Elia, Airbnb gm for
Middle East and Africa, told
TNW that Airbnb’s success
lay in its ability to appeal to
a diverse audience. “Five
years ago, in the summer
of 2010, roughly 47 000
people stayed with Airbnb
hosts. This summer, nearly
17 million guests stayed with
Airbnb hosts,” he says. “That
means that in the last five
years, summer travel with
Airbnb has grown 353 times
over.”
With regard to assumptions
that Airbnb may offer a lower
quality of accommodation
because of its affordability,
Nicola maintains that the
opposite is proved by the
numbers. He points out that
Airbnb has achieved sharp
growth that would not have
been possible if users were
being exposed to a lower
quality experience. “While
Airbnb is often a more
affordable way to travel, we
are also seeing strong growth
in the luxury segment of the
market,” he says.
He does not believe
that Airbnb’s arrival on
the hospitality scene will
negatively impact the hotel
space. “For us to win, nobody
has to lose,” says Nicola.
“Hotel occupancy rates
are higher than ever and
we strongly believe we are
helping more people travel
– which is good news for
everyone in the industry.”
Peter Schoeman, City
Lodge Hotel Group divisional
director of sales and
marketing, says Airbnb will
definitely be a contender
in the budget market,
should it stand the test of
time. “Different strokes for
different folks,” he says. “It
might be your scene, it might
not. It is like staying in a B&B
– you either love or hate it.”
He argues, however, that
traditional budget brands
such as Road Lodge and
Town Lodge can continue to
compete with new market
entrants by constantly
reinventing themselves and
proving consistent. “The big
thing in the travel market –
especially corporate travel –
is consistency of product and
service delivery,” he says.
“Reliability is vital.”
Travellers wary of
regional LCC options
LCC options
WITH Mozambique, Tanzania,
Zimbabwe and Zambia growing
in popularity for business,
travellers are increasingly
investigating ways to save
costs on medium-haul travel.
However, while they might
warm to the idea of flying on
low-cost airlines for domestic
travel, they are still sceptical
about the LCC offering when it
comes to regional travel.
Russell Jarvis points out
that, while most travellers
are price conscious, the lowcost
model is still a fairly new
concept for South Africans.
Shaun Pozyn echoes this
sentiment. He says the South
African aviation industry does
not have a good record when
it comes to the longer term
sustainability of carriers, and
therefore it would be expected
that travellers would want
these low-fare airlines to prove
their staying power before
shifting their loyalty from the
legacy carriers. “Since 1991,
there have been nine airlines
that started operating flights
within SA and have since
failed, resulting in stranded
customers who ended up
losing their money,” he says.
“The industry also suffers
huge reputational damage.”
There are an increasing
number of low-cost offerings
available for medium-haul
travel. Mango flies to Zanzibar,
while kulula flies to Zimbabwe,
Zambia, Kenya and Mauritius.
Skywise has also revealed
that it will launch regional
operations before the end of
the year. Zimbabwe’s flyafrica.
com and Tanzania’s fastjet
also make it possible to fly low
cost into Africa.
While these airlines have
made it possible for travellers
to fly at lower fares to more
destinations on the continent,
Kim Parker says flying into
Africa requires closer scrutiny
of safety standards for
corporates in particular. “The
travel manager would need to
be assured that the standard
safety and security regulations
of the aircraft are up to scratch
and the additional regulations
for air travel into Africa are
100% accurate – such as
landing rights and the like,”
she says.
Fastjet chief commercial
officer, Richard Bodin, points
out that the reputation of
the African aviation industry
overshadows its carriers.
“South Africa is very fortunate
to have the most developed
aviation industry on the
continent, but when it comes
to the rest of Africa I think
there are still real challenges
from a corporate travel
perspective with regard to
reliability, connectivity and,
of course, safety. Africa is
responsible for 3% of the
world’s aviation but 11% of the
world’s safety-related incidents
– suggesting that standards
across Africa are by no means
uniform.”
7 great deals for tight budgets!
1. Kulula holidays is offering a
special for travellers wanting to
visit Victoria Falls – for
R5 759pps visitors
can enjoy three nights’
accommodation at The
Kingdom at Victoria Falls,
breakfast daily, return flights
Johannesburg-Livingstone, all
pre-payable airport taxes and
fuel levies and return airporthotel
cross-border transfers.
The offer is valid from
September 17-October 12 and
October 23-November 30.
2. Africa Stay has a range
of products on offer for
travellers visiting Zanzibar on
a budget. Stay at Paradise
Beach for four nights from
R8 975pps or seven nights
from R12 540pps – all
inclusive. Travellers can
also stay at Doubletree by
Hilton for four nights from
R11 550pps or for seven
nights from R15 270pps all
inclusive. Both offers are
valid until December 22 and
include return flights ex-JNB
on Mango, return airport
transfers and meals on an
all-inclusive basis.
3. World Leisure Holidays
has introduced a special
offer for Shangri-La’s fivestar
Le Touessrok Resort
and Spa in Mauritius.
The offer is valid
between November 1 and
December 8 and guests
can stay in a deluxe
ocean-view room on a
half-board basis for
R25 490pp for seven
nights ex-Johannesburg;
R26 280pp ex-Durban;
and R26 755pp ex-Cape
Town. The package
includes return direct
flights to Mauritius on Air
Mauritius, return coach
transfers, breakfast and
dinner daily, all land and
non-motorised water
sports as per brochure
and daily entertainment.
4. Kulula holidays is
offering a special budget
package for travellers to
Thailand. For R9 150pps,
travellers can stay in the
three-star Ibis Phuket Patong
Hotel for eight nights –
including breakfast. The
offer, which is valid until
October 31, includes return
flights on Qatar Airways from
Johannesburg to Phuket, all
pre-payable airport taxes
and fuel levies and return
airport-hotel transfers and
daily entertainment.
5. Virgin Atlantic is
offering specials to
London and New York.
Travel in economy class
from Johannesburg to
London from R9 500, or
from Johannesburg to New
York for R11 500 including
taxes and surcharges.
The special is valid for
departures between
October 4 and December
20 and between January
18 and March 16, 2016.
The special is not subject
to travel on a particular
day of the week and flight
changes will cost R1 300
at any time. The fare is
published in the GDS.
Sales and ticketing until
October 10.
6. Checkout Tours has
launched December
specials to Phuket. Stay at
the three-star AIM Patong
Resort from R14 070pps,
or at the three-star Deevana
Patong Resort and Spa from
R14 505pps. Also on offer
are four-star specials,
including the four-star Old
Phuket Beach Resort from
R15 590pps and the
four-star Merlin Beach
from R15 915pps. All
offers are valid between
December 1 and December
19 and include return
flights ex-Johannesburg,
taxes, seven nights’
accommodation with
breakfast daily and return
airport transfers.
Thompsons Holidays
is offering a special
for travellers visiting
Mozambique. Stay at the
Lighthouse Resort for
seven nights from
R9 624pps ex-JNB,
R11 641pps ex-Durban
and R11 924pps ex-Cape
Town. The offer is valid
until December 5 and
includes discounts on all
meals for an introductory
special. Guests can opt
for a meal voucher per
person per day or pay for
their meals and receive a
discount. This applies to
food only – not drinks. If
a guest does not use the
value of a meal voucher,
it will not accumulate
towards the following
day’s meal.
Did you know?
Fastjet is in the process of increasing its fleet in a bid to offer a
wider service to travellers flying low-cost into Africa. The Tanzanian
airline recently signed a letter of intent to purchase an Airbus
A319 which, once operational, will bring the airline’s fleet size to
six aircraft.
