Comair throws R100m at problem
Comair has taken decision to manage recent delays rather than cancelling flights – CEO.
Plans to move maintenance and have spare planes on standby.
Comair has budgeted R100 million to curb the increasing flight delays that are due to problems with scheduling of aircraft maintenance by supplier SAA Technical.
Comair chief executive Erik Venter disclosed the extent of the problems in an open letter to customers and stakeholders on Wednesday.
SAA Technical is a subsidiary of SAA.
Moneyweb reported in April that Comair is preparing to move its maintenance business from SAA Technical due to the technical and operational delays caused by the supplier. Comair is the source of the biggest chunk of SAA Technical’s R703 million annual external revenue.
In 2016-17 SAA Technical recorded a R239 million operating profit, while the SAA group showed a R3.7 billion operating and R5.4 billion net loss.
Venter wrote: “You may be aware that domestic airlines in South Africa have encountered flight delays in recent months. Unfortunately, Comair’s two airline brands, kulula.com and British Airways … have also been affected.
“Comair holds itself to [the] highest standards of performance and won’t compromise on safety.
“The delays are a result of problems with the scheduling of maintenance and challenges with logistics at SAA Technical, which maintains the aircraft of Comair’s two airline brands and those of other local airlines.
“We are actively working with our internal and external stakeholders to address the underlying causes of the delays and return our on-time performance above the 85% threshold our customers are used to.”
These are some of the steps Comair is taking:
As far as possible, Comair has moved all major maintenance requirements overseas;
It has, with Lufthansa Technik (LHT), initiated registration of an AMO (approved maintenance organisation), with the objective of moving Comair’s new aircraft deliveries there. Unfortunately, it takes time to obtain all the necessary licences from the SA Civil Aviation Authority and Airports Company of SA;
Comair is retaining five fulltime back-up aircraft to its fleet of 21 scheduled aircraft;
Comair has instituted a wet lease (hiring an aircraft, including its crew) of an Airbus A320;
It has instituted an ad-hoc wet lease of a Boeing B737-300... It has requested permission to use it for the British Airways brand as well, so it can operate on lower-volume flights and routes;
Comair has cancelled all non-critical crew duties to ensure maximum crew availability for flight operations;
Engineering team is actively involved at SAA Technical from 4am;
Comair’s customer relations team is implementing improvements in communication to customers when delays occur; and
It will take delivery of two new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in February 2019 and five B737-800s on lease, which will arrive between April and September. All will be maintained at the new LHT facility.
Said Venter: “Comair takes very seriously any inconvenience experienced by our customers and [we have] budgeted R100 million to attempt to alleviate the situation while working on longterm solutions.”