Ex-SAA boss taxis onto runway
NEW airline FlyBlue Crane, which is being launched by former South African Airways (SAA) boss Siza Mzimela to compete with her former employer, is to meet Department of Transport officials soon to lay out its plans.
This week, details emerged over how the airline will be structured.
Mzimela has partnered with two other former SAA executives in the venture, Theunis Potgieter and Jerome Simelane.
FlyBlue Crane spokesman Rich Mkhondo said that while no financial backers had officially signed up yet, several local entities had shown interest. He said Mzimela owned 70% of the operation, Potgieter 20% and Simelane 10%.
The airline is expected to focus on routes across the region, such as from Johannesburg to Mozambique and Tanzania, rather than battle for market share on the overtraded routes between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Mkhondo said the hearing with the Department of Transport was expected this month, and would pave the way for Mzimela’s airline to apply for a licence, determine the exact route and lease aircraft.
But the fact the former CEO is launching an airline so soon after she left the national carrier in 2012 is likely to ruffle feathers within the SAA stable.
Though it was hoped the competition would bring down prices for the fare-weary Africa-focused local passenger base, it was unlikely to affect domestic ticket prices.
Locally, ticket prices have climbed since 1Time went bust in 2011.
Linden Birns, MD of aviation consultancy Plane Talking, said ticket prices had risen in the region of 10% since 1Time’s demise.
Still, Chris Zweigenthal, CEO of the Airline Association of Southern Africa, said the industry remained squeezed. “Airlines in general are not making much money in South Africa,” he said.
A number of airlines promised to launch, but failed to get off the ground, including Skywise, Flysafair and Fast Jet.
Still, pundits are giving Mzimela’s venture a thumbs up, especially given her industry credentials. Guy Leitch, SA Flyer magazine editor, said on Friday: “She knows what she’s doing by not competing in the oversupplied golden triangle — the Johannesburg-Cape Town-Durban route.”