FlySafair – it’s lift-off!

FLYSAFAIR launched its first
flight between Cape Town and
Johannesburg on October 16,
with fares starting from R499
one way (excluding taxes of
around R500). It’s a welcome
relief for SA travellers who are
used to paying almost double
on the route.
FlySafair will soon launch
flights between Cape Town and
Port Elizabeth and Cape Town
and George, with fares starting
from R399 (excluding taxes).
At the FlySafair launch event,
deputy dg of the Department
of Transport, Zakhele Thwala,
said it was time South
Africans had more choice. He
said it was time “we expand
our base and make sure
it’s sustainable” and that
FlySafair would bring needed
competition.
Meanwhile, in a recent
statement, Mango ceo, Nico
Bezuidenhout, said another
start-up was expected to enter
the market before mid-2015.
“The introduction of a second
new airline in the domestic
market will exhaust the sector.
The market has contracted
substantially since 2008 and,
with margins under pressure
again this year it is a fact that
the sector cannot sustain
more capacity on popular
routes such as JNB-CPT and
JNB-DUR.”
While below-cost fares fed
airline launches, they would
be impossible to sustain,
he added. “The environment
pre the global financial crisis
proved far more conducive to
airline start-ups.
“Today, given capital scarcity
and increased competition,
an investment proportionately
greater than that required
a couple of years ago may
be necessary to sustain an
airline well beyond its launch.
Even with the lowest cost
base in the industry, Mango’s
consistent profit history was
not easily achieved.”