THE launch of FlySafair in a
month’s time may result in
a few weeks of competitive
pricing but is unlikely to
result in a long-term drop.
Mango’s head of
communications, Hein
Kaiser, said the introduction
of competitive domestic
airlines was always positive
for consumers but “one
cannot assume that the
launch pricing of any airline
would be maintained
throughout”. He said while
Mango would still offer a
ticket sale on Tuesdays, “we
are confident our product
offering, distribution and
payment methods (on an
Edgars account, for example)
will stand the airline in good
stead” once FlySafair took
to the skies.
Hein said in recent years,
aviation and GDP growth had
de-coupled, with negative
growth in passenger
numbers. Additional capacity
could negatively impact
the equilibrium between
supply and demand, and
thereby the aviation sector
commercially.
CEO of Comair – which
operates kulula.com – Erik
Venter, was quoted in
Business Day saying that,
other than ensuring some
competitive rates for a few
weeks, FlySafair’s launch
would not lead to significant
changes in the airline’s
ticket prices, as profits
were too low to sustain
lower fares.
