FlySafair answers agents’ concerns

SINCE low-cost carrier
FlySafair went live on
Amadeus and Travelport
under its own carrier code,
FA, agents say the airline
offers more expensive
fares than when it was
ticketed under the previous
code, H1.
In March the airline
attained the new code,
although still ticketed
through Hahn Air (see TNW
March 29).
Chanelle Moses, team
leader of Flight Centre
Randpark Ridge, and
Mohammed Mirza, travel
consultant at A2Z Travel
Services, say, since the
change, FlySafair is more
expensive than competitors
Mango and kulula when
comparing fares on the
GDS for round trips on
several dates in April and
May.
But, Kirby Gordon, vp of
sales and distribution of
FlySafair says this isn’t
the case. “The mark-up we
have added on our new fare
code is less than before,”
he says. “It’s most likely
agents could have seen a
rise in fares over the last
six weeks as this time of
year is a busy season.”
FlySafair has seen a huge
increase in sales since
attaining its own code,
Kirby adds. “Sales have
more than tripled when
comparing the first week we
went live under code FA to
last week.”
In addition to cheaper
fares, Kirby believes the
increase is due to the
airline maximising its local
and international exposure.
He also says several
codeshare and interline
agreements are in the
pipelin.