FlySafair becomes newest South Africa’s airline

Aircraft leasing and management company Safair has been granted approval by South Africa’s Air Service Licensing Council to launch their own domestic scheduled operation, FlySafair.

Offering up to 10 daily flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town, FlySafair will be utilising two Boeing 737-400 aircraft to service the route. The low cost carrier is set to officially launch ticket sales in September and be fully operational by the last quarter of 2013.

“We are extremely excited about this new chapter in Safair’s history and we look forward to further being of service to South Africa’s flying public,” says Dave Andrew, CEO of Safair. “Having close to 50 years of aviation experience, along with our proven track record of excellence within the aviation industry, the launch of FlySafair represents a natural evolution of our business.”

Safair has years of expertise and experience in providing aircraft leasing, maintenance, special operations, chartering and training services. Safair has a 75 percent South African shareholding, with the other 25 percent owned by the Irish ASL Aviation Group.

Safair has long served as a commercial support partner for many local airlines. This involves aircraft leasing, and Safair being contracted to operate other airlines’ schedules whenever they have an aircraft out of service due to technical reasons or crew shortages.

In these instances, Safair provides their own unbranded aircraft and crew, and operates under the company name of the airline it is assisting.

Andrew concludes that FlySafair has the necessary experience and expertise needed to provide world-class and industry-leading services to the low-cost airline industry in South Africa.

“Although many people have commented that the airline industry is an unfavourable environment for new entrants at the moment, we would like to remind the public that we have been flying commercially for almost half a century already and we have no doubt that FlySafair will only serve to further grow the domestic market.

“Owing to our reputation of success, we assert that our new carrier will operate proficiently, and offer the highest standards of excellence and service to our customers – all at a price that they can afford. We look forward to welcoming you onboard again.”