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The most on-time low-cost carrier in the world, FlySafair, is adding a little extra joy to their customer's travel experience with the installation of their latest round of cabin artwork. Six South African artists each created the unique designs, celebrating their favourite parts of the country and its melting pot of cultures. The seventh special edition was created by children supported by FlySafair’s charity partner Wings and Wishes, who provide financially disadvantaged, chronically ill children with transport to destinations where they can receive life-saving medical attention. This is the second time the airline is running this campaign, which started in 2022 as a way to support local artists and help people find enjoyment in flying again after the stress of the pandemic.

“We are thrilled to be bringing back this campaign. Art is a powerful thing, it has the potential to communicate a message or feeling regardless of the language you speak or the culture you come from,” says Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair. “When we first launched this project, flying was extremely stressful for many of our customers due to the forced proximity it required. Thankfully, that is now behind us, but what better way to share our love of flying and South Africa than through art.”

Central to this project are the artists themselves. Each as diverse as the artwork they created, supporting the creative industry forms an important part of this project. The artists were asked to create a piece which celebrates their favourite part of South Africa. Each with their own story to tell, the result is a celebration of all that there is to see in South Africa.

The designs have been converted into aircraft approved materials and are being placed on the selected aircraft's interior. As a collective, they are a fantastic reflection of just how wide a range of special and unique experiences the country has to offer, bringing more life and fun to the FlySafair Flying experience.

“We cannot wait to show off this next round of designs. This project is an important reminder of all we have to celebrate in this country and is a great way to help us share our love of flying with all our customers,” concluded Gordon.

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FlySafair has launched the second of their art campaigns, a project in which local artists are commissioned to create specifically South African designs that will be placed on the interior of seven of the airlines Boeing 737’s. Although the campaign may seem simple on the surface, the application of interior décor to an aircraft involves significant technical and logistical hurdles which must be overcome before this project could take flight.

Colour counts

Generally speaking, the livery of most commercial aircraft is predominantly white. However, this is far from an aesthetic choice. There are a number of benefits to having a predominantly white livery. While factors like reduced cabin heating, lowered chance of bird strikes, and easier spotting of damage are definite motivators, interestingly weight also plays a role. Depending on the colours used, the livery of an aircraft can add an additional 272-544 kgs of weight to an aircraft. The reason for this is the additional weight which pigments add. White paint does not contain as many pigments and so is lighter. This is important as a standard Boeing 737-800 will take up to four layers of paint at around 190kg per layer. This means that while colourful designs may be aesthetically pleasing, the impact on fuel efficiency and air speed are significant.  

Thankfully, the same rules do not apply to the interior.

“Most aircraft are delivered with white and blue interiors,” said Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair. “According to Boeing, this is because of the calming effect of the colours as well as blue’s ability to depict competence, dependability, and intelligence.”

To conduct these upgrades to the interior, FlySafair have had the designs printed on Aviation approved specialised calendered vinyl. The material comes in a standard gloss white and can be printed on using specialised inkjet methods. This allows the airline to add additional colour to their aircraft without contributing to the overall weight in the same way exterior modifications would.

Regulatory Requirements

Deciding on what materials to use for a project like this is also laced with complexity. There are a number of regulatory requirements which materials must meet before installation. Chief among these is FAR 25.853* which was introduced in the late 1980s and speaks to flammability requirements for aircraft over 12,500kg.

“The interior of commercial aircraft is highly complex and rapidly evolving as new technologies are introduced,” said Gordon. “As with almost all aspects of aviation, the interior of an aircraft is subject to significant regulation. Every aspect of the prints needs to tested. The vinyl base, for example, which includes a specialised adhesive is applied to an aluminum base and subjected to a flame for 15 seconds. To pass, the film needs to stop burning within 15 seconds of the flame being removed.”

Similarly, each ink colour needs to be tested to ensure they also meet flammability and toxicity standards.

“Luckily, with the advancement of materials and printing options, the possibilities for creating new designs are endless,” said Gordon.

Placement Matters

The second of the regulatory requirements is that emergency equipment needs to remain clearly visible. Many of the designs produced for this project are rich in colour and detail. Although beautiful to look at, these busy visuals have the potential to obscure important emergency equipment.

“We had to be strategic when deciding where to place these designs. Our goal was to place them in areas where the customers could enjoy them throughout the flight without infringing on areas which house emergency equipment,” said Gordon.

At the moment the designs will sit on the forward galley and the aft forward-facing wall of the lavatory cubicles, giving customers the best view without interrupting safety protocols.

Shifting Schedules

In addition to regulatory concerns, scheduling is another of the biggest challenges faced by airlines when conducting upgrades of any sort. It can take approximately one to two weeks for a team of 20  specialists to paint the exterior of an aircraft. Depending on the job, interior modifications take a similar length of time. For an airline, pulling several aircraft from the schedule at one time can be disastrous, even during quiet periods.

“While we would love to have all the artwork up and flying at the same time, having seven aircraft from our fleet non-operational at one time would cause major issues in terms of capacity and frequency on our routes. To ensure operations continue as usual, we wait for each aircraft to come in for their routine heavy maintenance. This gives us enough time to complete these visual upgrades without disrupting the schedule,” concluded Gordon

To date, the upgrades to two aircraft have been completed, with another scheduled to enter the maintenance hangar soon. Keep an eye out for the designs, which is not only a testament to the artists’ creativity but also technological advancements which have made unique interiors both possible and safe.

Johannesburg, 30 January 2024 - FlySafair is starting the year strong with the announcement of its first new route for 2024. South Africa’s favourite low-cost airline will be launching a direct route between Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA) just outside the Kruger National Park. This new route makes travelling between the two tourism hot spots more accessible for both local and international holidaymakers.

“We are very pleased to be able to start the year off with such an exciting new route. Although flights to areas surrounding the Kruger National Park are readily available from Johannesburg, there are limited commercial flight options from Cape Town,” said Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair.

Thanks to the concerted efforts of Cape Town Tourism, the city has experienced a boom in popularity, particularly with international visitors. International tourism in the city has boomed, increasing by 76% between January and July last year. During the busy Christmas period, the number of visitors to the city exceeded pre-covid levels with officials recording 317 thousand international tourists passing through the city’s main airport with two-way tickets. Local travel to the Mother City has also grown. In the first six months of 2023 alone, Cape Town saw 3.2 million domestic two-way passengers pass through Cape Town International Airport, representing a 9% year-on-year growth. As a result, many of the local tourist attractions have seen drastic increases in the number of visitors.

The addition of more capacity and a low-cost carrier to the route between CTIA and KMIA offers an exciting opportunity to spread the tourism success currently being experienced in Cape Town to other attractions across the country. The Kruger National Park is one of the most spectacular and unique tourist attractions South Africa has to offer. Beyond acting as an important source of income for surrounding communities, it also plays an important role in preserving our country’s biodiversity and wildlife heritage. Growing this route will encourage international tourists and Cape Town locals to extend their holidays to include a visit to the park. This is likely to have a marked positive effect on overall tourism in South Africa.  

“Cape Town and the Kruger National Park are two of our country's most popular tourist destinations. Unfortunately, though, they sit in opposite corners of our country, making travel between them both inconvenient and costly,” said Gordon. “We hope that by introducing our low-cost option to the market, we can encourage more tourists to build a visit to Kruger into their trip itineraries while also opening this gem to the people of the Western Cape.”

The inaugural flight for this route is planned for the 2^nd of April and will make use of FlySafair’s Boeing 737-800. Tickets will start at R1851.00 one way, with flights leaving Cape Town at 9 am every Tuesday and Saturday and landing at the destination around 11:30 am. The aircraft will then be turned around, taking off from KMIA at 12:05 pm and landing at approximately 2:50 pm.

• Ends

About FlySafair 

FlySafair is a domestic low-cost carrier operating in Southern Africa. Flights are available locally between OR Tambo, Lanseria, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, George, East London, Durban, and Bloemfontein from just R550*. FlySafair also operates internationally, with flights to Mauritius and Zanzibar from just R2 950*, and Harare , Vic Falls, Livingstone, and Maputo from R1400*. In 2023 FlySafair was named the number one on time low-cost airline globally by Cirium. FlySafair received five awards at the 2023 Civil Aviation Industry Awards. These include Best Airline Operator/Airline, Aviation Maintenance Organisation Award: Medium – Large, Aviation Professional awarded to FlySafair CEO Elmar Conradie and Best Airline Award voted for by members of the public. The airline has also been awarded the Skytrax Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa award in 2021, 2022, and 2023. FlySafair began operations in October 2014 and is ranked Africa’s most on-time airline, while proudly being the Trusted Domestic Carrier for the Springboks. 

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Award winning low-cost airline FlySafair is continuing to grow its network with the announcement of four additional regional routes. The airline’s growing list of regional routes will help bring Africa closer together, giving travelers low-cost options when visiting South Africa’s neighbours. The newest additions include Harare, Livingstone, Victoria Falls, and Maputo.

“Plans for these routes have been in the pipeline for several months now,” says Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair. “We are so pleased to finally be able to announce the addition of these routes and more importantly begin operations just in time for the festive season.”

The first batch of new routes will be launched on the 2^nd of October 2023 and are between Johannesburg and Harare and Johannesburg and Livingstone. The Harare flights will operate daily with prices starting at R1,000*. Flights between Johannesburg and Livingstone are scheduled for four times weekly on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday with tickets starting at R2,000*.

The next batch of routes will take off on the 3^rd and 5^th of October 2023. Respectively, these include Johannesburg to Victoria Falls which will operate three times per week with tickets starting at R1,400*, and Johannesburg to Maputo which will operate four times per week with tickets from R1,400*.

Bookings for all new routes opened on the 3^rd of August 2023.

“The introduction of new routes to our schedule is always exciting,” says Gordon. “We are happy to offer customers our low fares and on-time services on these additional routes. Tourism in Africa is definitely on the road to recovery. We hope to help play our part in growing the tourism industry both at home and abroad by connecting people through our passion for aviation.”

FlySafair has undergone a period of rapid growth, increasing the number of flights they operate by 47% between 2019 and 2022. This number is set to increase even further as the airline continues to add new aircraft, routes, and frequencies throughout 2023. To accommodate this growth, FlySafair has also increased hiring, adding new staff to help maintain the airline’s award-winning customer service in the face of increased operations.

“Despite our rapid growth we have managed to maintain our customer focus with hassle-free travel and on-time performance remaining a priority. This is something our entire team are determined to continue as we navigate the new challenges that come with new routes,” concludes Gordon.

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UPDATE:

The issue on the fuelling line has been resolved and operations out of OR Tambo International Airport have resumed.

FlySafair regrets to announce that several flights from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg are delayed due to a fuelling problem at the airport.

The main valve on the fuelling line that supplies fuel to the apron has been down since the early hours of this morning, which has affected all flights out of OR Tambo. 

ACSA has had technicians working on the issue, and they are working diligently to fix the problem. 

Unfortunately, this also affects flights departing to OR Tambo from Cape Town.

We will update passengers as updates become available.

FlySafair has taken the decision to investigate a technical error on its aircraft following two flight diversions on 30 March and 5 April 2022. On both occasions, the same aircraft operating flight FA143 departed King Phalo Airport in East London for Cape Town International Airport and had to be diverted to Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha. During both flights, the captain was alerted to an indication error from a small component on the wing after departure and followed safety protocol by landing in Gqeberha rather than continuing onto Cape Town.

During the first incident on 30 March, the technicians cycled through a round of checks and the indication was found to be a false warning. After the second alert on 5 April, FlySafair decided to ground the aircraft in question for more comprehensive checks. Working in conjunction with the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), who supported that decision, the maintenance team at FlySafair is working to determine the root cause of the indication light in order to be able to release the aircraft back into service.

“On both occasions, our flight and cabin crews stepped in to ensure the utmost safety for all passengers on board,” says Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair. “Due to the nature of the landings, the team did not call for the brace position on either of the flights and rather assured passengers that the captain had taken the decision to divert the aircraft to Gqeberha.”

“It’s never ideal to divert an aircraft because it delays customers and results in a number of costs for the airline, but it’s our policy to always act conservatively when it comes to any possible safety concerns. Despite the inconvenience, we know that our customers appreciate that we are a concerned and conscientious operator that prioritises safety.”

FlySafair maintains its own aircraft and has had a longstanding relationship with Boeing since the early 1980s. Despite the pressure experienced by the airline industry over the last two years, FlySafair has retained all its maintenance staff, a key factor in its plans for business growth.

The airline regards this as a top priority and an investigation into the cause of the technical issue is ongoing. No interruptions to regular services are expected.

“South Africa’s aviation safety record is one of the strongest in the world,” says Gordon, “It’s important that we as citizens understand that both the SACAA and the operators they regulate, take these events, no matter how minor, very seriously to keep us safe in the skies.”

19 October 2021, Johannesburg - Low-cost carrier FlySafair has drafted a proposal that seeks to amend the execution of public holidays in South Africa. The airline believes the change will bring about a speedier recovery for the travel and tourism industry, and contribute to the country’s economic growth.

FlySafair has proposed that public holidays that fall in the middle of the week be moved to either a Friday or Monday. A day of observance would then serve to recognise the historical significance of these days should they fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

The proposal has been tabled with the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) for review. If well-received by the body, FlySafair hopes this will begin the process of lobbying the Department of Tourism to introduce the amendment to parliament.

“Our intention is in no way to diminish the importance of these historical days,” says Elmar Conradie, CEO of FlySafair. “Our aim would be to look at how the time off from work can be better used to benefit the tourism industry and encourage South Africans to travel again.”

According to the Bureau of Economic Research, nearly one million jobs have been lost in the tourism sector and its value chain since 2018. Last year’s sharp declines in international visitors and domestic trips have had a knock on effect in terms of revenue and jobs.

“These are unprecedented times and therefore require some new ways of thinking,” says Conradie. “We believe our proposal presents government with a novel idea to stimulate economic growth and recovery for the country as a whole.”

The airline says that this year’s Easter season and the recent Heritage Day weekend are great examples of how a long weekend can rekindle people’s love of travel. According to the eThekwini municipality, 95% of accommodation establishments were fully booked on the Friday and Saturday nights during the three-day weekend in September. This translated into direct spend of R107m – a welcome sign that if given the chance, South Africans will travel.

FlySafair has found that there is a significant increase in bookings when a public holiday falls on either a Monday or Friday. There is a more than 20% increase in average passengers flown over a three-day weekend in comparison to lone public holidays (those that fall mid-week).

“2020 was the year that travel lost and we’re doing everything we can to recover,” says Conradie. “But with this small change in public holiday execution, there’s a chance we could encourage South Africans to travel in their own backyards again.”

4 October 2021, Johannesburg – Low-cost carrier FlySafair has done a lot to change the domestic air travel landscape in South Africa, and it’s set to do it all again with the launch of its subscription programme: the FlyMore Club. By joining this club, members will receive an allocation of flights to use each month – effectively offering regular travellers a fixed low price.

“Customers have been asking us for a way to reward regular travellers for a while and the traditional models just don’t work, especially not in the low-cost environment. We feel confident that we’ve innovated a unique solution here that customers will love,” says Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair.

Members sign up to the club for a minimum of twelve months. Three packages are available that offer customers different monthly flight allocations:

• R800pm for either two one-way flights, or one return trip a month
• R2 400pm for either six one-way flights, or three return trips a month
• R4 000pm for either ten one-way flights, or five return trips a month

Members then redeem their monthly flights on the FlySafair website and only pay airport taxes when booking.

“This means that we are effectively able to offer members something like a ‘flight-hailing’ service at a cost saving of up to 84%* per flight. Given that the flight allocation is already awarded, users can literally book their seats on the way to the airport, which means avoiding all the complexities of change fees and fare difference charges.”

FlySafair has been disrupting the local air travel market since it launched in 2014 with super low airfares and an unbundled product offering, giving customers the choice to save by opting out of checked luggage. The innovation continued when they were the first to launch priority boarding, mobile check-in agents, and WhatsApp boarding passes and customer support.

“We recognise that the customer experience is central to our success and while we’ve always focused on the basics, like being on time, it’s also key that we keep innovating to improve the air travel experience for our customers.”

FlyMore Club members are required to use their monthly flight allocation for travel within the month it is allocated and flights can be booked on any of FlySafair’s 26 domestic routes.

“We see FlyMore appealing to a number of customers including regular commuters, business travellers, people with holiday homes, folks in long-distance relationships and even children with separated parents.”

“The pandemic has taught us that we need to be resilient, but as we recover, we also need to seek out new ways to be innovative and remain competitive,” says Gordon. “During the last year we’ve launched our app, all-inclusive holidays and now the FlyMore Club. And we will continue to identify and explore opportunities that best serve our customers and crew.”

To find out more, visit FlySafair’s FlyMore Club website.

*Percentage saving is based on FlySafair’s highest airfare class.

28 September 2021 – Low-cost carrier FlySafair will launch its first international flights with a service to Mauritius, which will start on 11 December 2021. The twice-weekly service will operate out of OR Tambo International Airport every Tuesday and Saturday. This follows the announcement on 10 September by the Mauritian government to re-open the island to South African travellers.

“In just about 7 years we’ve managed to gain a fairly strong footprint in the South African domestic market. Finally breaking beyond local borders is an exciting milestone for us,” says Elmar Conradie, CEO of FlySafair.

The airline was granted the rights to operate to Mauritius in December of 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 halted launch plans. “Mauritius holds a special place in the hearts of South Africans, and we’re so looking forward to offering flights just in time for the December holiday season.”

On Saturdays and Tuesdays, flight FA800 will depart OR Tambo International Airport at 09h00 and arrive in Mauritius at 15h15 (local time). On return, flight FA801 will depart Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport at 16h15 and land at 18h30 (SA time). Total flight times will be approximately 4 hours, and flights will be direct with no stops.

FlySafair will operate its existing Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the route. “We’re excited to take the same affordable, hassle-free and on-time model we use locally, and transfer that onto an international route,” adds Conradie.

Airfares on the new route start from R4 700 and will be available for sale across all booking platforms from 28 September 2021, with the first Mauritian-bound flight departing on 11 December 2021. Standard fares will include a 20kg checked-luggage allowance, and customers will have the option to upgrade their flight experiences with added extras like pre-selected seats, priority boarding, and extra luggage. The airline will also be selling tickets in its new Business Class solution where middle seats between aisle and window passengers are blocked for added comfort and privacy.

Before closing its borders in early 2020 to stop the spread of COVID-19, Mauritius counted South Africa as one of its top five tourist markets. According to Statistics Mauritius, over
118 000 South Africans visited the island in 2019. Now, with travel restrictions having relaxed in stages and the island accepting South African tourists again, its once thriving tourism industry will get a much-needed boost.

“The losses suffered by the airline industry have been great, but as the world continues to open up, it offers us hope that we’ll be able to rebuild,” says Conradie. “Despite these challenges, the FlySafair team has remained resilient, innovative and strategic. Our conservative approach has served us well during the hardest parts of lockdown, but it’s our bullish nature that has helped us embrace new opportunities for the airline and bring new services to our customers.”

FlySafair most recently introduced a Business Class fare offering to its corporate passengers, launched a new route between Cape Town and Bloemfontein, built an app, and added a packaged holiday offering. “Mauritius is one of the many new feathers in our cap over the last year and a half,” explains Conradie. “We’ll continue to make the right investments at the right time for our staff and customers to ensure our long-term sustainability as an airline in the South African market and beyond.”

The last year and a bit has been challenging for many, however, despite all that South Africans have endured, there are pockets of hope and recovery.

As the world paused, many businesses, individuals and communities were left in unfathomable predicaments. The impact of the lockdown was undoubtedly felt throughout FlySafair’s operations, but the airline was reminded of how this global crisis affected others like local NGO Wings and Wishes in life-threatening ways.

With provincial borders closed and flights grounded, countless families were still reliant on Wings and Wishes to ferry their chronically and critically ill children to specialist appointments around the country. Despite the hurdles the pandemic put in its way, the NGO funded over a thousand trips in 2020.

“The tenacious determination that the Wings and Wishes team has for everything they do is one of the reasons we wanted to partner with them,” says Kirby Gordon, CMO at FlySafair. “As an operator in the travel sector that is taking longer to bounce back, we see a lot of our same fighting spirit in the NGO and we wanted to be a part of that.”

Wings and Wishes’ primary mandate is to fund and arrange the transport of children in need of specialist healthcare. To further support these efforts, FlySafair has pledged to cover the costs of 320 one-way flights over the next 10 months.

“At Wings and Wishes we are all about building relationships. Our work is based on the partnerships that we have with medical staff at the various hospitals throughout South Africa, the service providers like FlySafair who get us there, and the families that make it all worth it,” says Inge Human, Manager at Wings and Wishes.

Human went on to say that the NGO facilitates the travel of three children and accompanying adults a day on average. To make the journey seem less daunting, Wings and Wishes gives young passengers a care pack of goodies such as toiletries, pyjamas, essentials and activities for their hospital stay.

The commitment Wings and Wishes makes to families spans years with continued support for travel costs until the age of 18. Many of the children registered with the NGO are repeat patients who are in need of ongoing care to overcome their condition.

“The last year has given us a moment to pause and reflect on what we can do to make a meaningful difference at a time when it’s needed most,” says Gordon. “Wings and Wishes is an incredibly unique NGO filling a very urgent and pressing need that we are so suited to help with.”

 “We are very excited about our relationship with FlySafair. Their assistance will ensure that many children get the lifesaving treatment they need,” says Human. “By sponsoring flights throughout South Africa, the airline is giving wings to children who wish to get better and lead a healthy, normal life.”

About Wings and Wishes

At Wings and Wishes, we are dedicated to transporting critically and chronically ill children to receive the lifesaving specialist medical care that they require.

Our objective is to provide transport for children, who are deemed financially less fortunate, to receive life-saving and/or specialised medical treatment which they require – anywhere in Africa.

In addition, we provide compassionate and professional assistance to these children and their families, ensuring they have immediate access to the essential medical services which they need, and which are not available to them at a local level.

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FlySafair regrets to confirm that one of our flights, FA221 from George to Johannesburg, had to do a go-around before landing in Johannesburg as the result of a technical issue.

Flight FA221, operated by a Boeing 737-400 aircraft, had to do a go-around before landing at OR Tambo International Airport. The flight departed George at 13:47 and headed up to Johannesburg without issue. However, upon approach to Johannesburg OR Tambo International at approximately 15:30 the crew received an indication of a possible technical issue.

The aircraft circled OR Tambo International once, and the crew alerted the tower of a potential issue on board. Passengers were briefed to adopt a brace position as a matter of caution.

The alert related to one of two hydraulic systems, and the aircraft landed without incident at 15:47 where it was met by response vehicles as is standard practice. Initial findings indicated that the issue was what is referred to as an "indication error" which is where sensitive aircraft sensor equipment gives a false indication of a possible issue. After landing, it was noticed that there was in fact a small amount of hydraulic fluid on the runway.

The aircraft has been taken out of operation for investigation, and all relevant authorities have been alerted.

FlySafair would like to commend the crew for the professional manner in which they managed this landing and for always putting safety first. We'd also like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused and for their patience.

Low-cost carrier FlySafair has joined forces with local travel technology company Tripco to launch FlySafair Holidays, an all-in-one travel package solution. Along with flights, passengers will now be able to book a stay from a selection of handpicked places around South Africa through flysafairholidays.co.za.

“As our whole industry works together toward recovery, we wanted to expand our offering to customers giving them the option to book all the elements of a local getaway in one place,” says Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair. “Our goal has always been to open the skies to more South Africans by offering flights at great value for money. With this new venture, we hope to take this one step further and provide travellers with access to more budget-friendly package options.”

Through FlySafair Holidays, passengers can book their FlySafair flights as well as accommodation at a wide array of BnBs, guest houses, hotels and lodges throughout South Africa, facilitated by Tripco, who are best known for their primary booking platform, LekkeSlaap.

While there are existing package holiday offerings from competitors, both FlySafair and Tripco hope their partnership will complement the market with competitive pricing and innovative tech.

“We couldn’t have picked a better partner to help us bring this idea to life than Tripco. They have a deep understanding of destinations and travel in South Africa, while also having extensive experience in the tech space,” says Gordon.

“We’re always looking for new ways to create unforgettable travel experiences through technology,” says Jonathan Womersley, Executive Director at Tripco. “Our products give customers the freedom to curate their own trips, while still offering excellent customer service and support every step of the way. While we are at the leading edge of technology, we recognise the value of human interaction. That’s why our unique combination of advanced travel technology and customer service is what sets us apart in this industry.”

Despite the impact COVID-19 has had on the local travel industry, both companies believe South Africans are still hungry to travel.

“We saw partnering with FlySafair as the perfect opportunity to create new travel technologies and reach new markets. The lockdown created a unique opportunity for local brands to target customers who would normally travel internationally, but have been unable to do so for a long time,” says Womersley. “FlySafair Holidays will combine the luxury feel of international travel with the best travel opportunities the local market has to offer.”

“While we see this venture as an opportunity to diversify our income stream in a small way, it’s also a step towards more collaboration in the travel industry to aid its recovery,” says Gordon.

To find out more, visit FlySafair Holidays.

FlySafair’s central booking system provider, Radixx International, experienced a major technical event last week that say the airlines reservation systems completely offline for several days. During this time absolutely no reservations could be made or modified on this system whatsoever.

eDreams is an online travel agency, headquartered in Spain, that draws access to inventory of many airlines around the world through a number of booking channels. eDreams and FlySafair have no direct relationship, rather the company draws inventory via Global Distribution Systems and via a third-party relationship with another distributer.

During the system outage, eDreams continued to sell tickets on FlySafair which could not be confirmed because the FlySafair system outage.

The result is that customers have arrived for flights with reservations that do not exist. FlySafair has no record of these bookings, no seats allocated aboard for these customers, and no payment.

We have been in touch with eDreams who have confirmed that they will be refunding all affected bookings.

If you are in possession of an eDreams reservation, please contact us immediately on 087 357 0030 to confirm that we have your booking on record.

We have also prepared a letter confirming our system outage to assist customers in obtaining their refunds. Click here to download this letter now.

We absolutely appreciate that the result of this ticketing has inconvenienced and displaced a number of customers. FlySafair will do everything it can to support these individuals in getting refunds back from eDreams. We thank our customers for their understanding and their appreciation that the actions of this third-party are outside of our control.

We regret to confirm that we had to offload three passengers from flight FA 113 today.

The three passengers refused to wear their masks on the aircraft, which is a legal requirement to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

FlySafair’s rights application to operate flights between South Africa and Mauritius has been approved. While a schedule is not currently available due to the island nation’s travel ban to and from South Africa, the airline will introduce a twice-weekly service as soon as government regulations allow.

“This is an all-important milestone for the FlySafair team as we look to expand our operations,” says Elmar Conradie, CEO of FlySafair. “We’ve had our sights set on offering services beyond South Africa for some time and hope this will be one of many announcements in the future.”

South Africans have had a long-standing love affair with Mauritius as a travel destination. In 2018, 1.4 million tourists visited the island – exceeding its total population at the time – and South Africans made up 14.2% of these visitor numbers followed by Germany at 11.7%. On the flipside, there’s been steady growth in Mauritians visiting South Africa between 2018 and 2019 with a notable 6.2% increase year-on-year.

“The events of the last year have definitely put a dampener on the travel and aviation industry locally and internationally. It’s given us pause for thought and helped us to think more strategically about the future of the airline,” says Kirby Gordon, CMO of FlySafair. “With some of the major local carriers still grounded, we’re hoping to provide some much-needed capacity on the route between OR Tambo and Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport.”

While this might be the low-cost carrier’s first foray into international flight services, it’s old hat for its parent company Safair. Over its long and illustrious 50-year history, Safair has operated a number of specialist aviation services including the transport of cargo across Africa and as far as Antarctica. Its commercial experience is not limited to FlySafair and spans some three decades with operating partnerships involving Kulula, AirNamibia, South African Airways and Ryanair.

“Safair has been able to build up a wealth of experience in the aviation industry and we’re very fortunate to be able to tap into this as we embark on this exciting new chapter,” says Conradie

The ravages of COVID-19 on the aviation and tourism industry are well documented. Local Low-Cost Airline FlySafair, has just launched a new mobile app as companies attempt to rebuild after South Africa’s second wave, and adjust to travel in the New Normal.

“We’ve been crafting an app for a while and now seemed like a great time to launch it because we were able to make a lot of adjustments to the features to ensure that they were relevant in this COVID-19 reality”, says Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair.

Aviation is South Africa took another massive knock after the announcement of level 3 restrictions in late December last year, with available seats on the market in January this year being a mere 45% of what they were in January 2020. Competition for limited customers is fierce and it’s now more important than ever that airlines look to differentiate themselves to win over market share.

“The aim of the app has been to make our customer’s experience with us simpler, by centralising all booking details into one place. What’s great about this is that customers can manage a great deal of their journey on their own devices. Boarding passes are kept on the device which supports our No Touch approach at the airport and live updates through the app will keep customers abreast of any possible schedule changes”.

The new FlySafair App is available for download, free of charge, in both the Apple App Store for iPhones, and the Google Play Store for Android devices. While the app provides functionality to assist customers during their travel process it’s also a platform to purchase new flights.

“Users create a profile on the app which allows them to save the details for regular travelers and even remember their payment details, making booking really simple”.

FlySafair has also communicated that special offers will be promoted through the app only.

“We’re looking forward to running a couple of promotions and deals that will be exclusively available through our app in the near future”.

Download Links for the FlySafair App:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/za/app/flysafair/id1503638971

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bluemarket.safair

27 October – Johannesburg. Low Cost Carrier FlySafair is urging competitors to return to the market as quickly as possible in order to meet rising consumer demand for domestic flights.

The South African domestic aviation landscape has been in trouble this year, with some airlines facing tough circumstances before the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to all air operations, pushing many airlines over the edge. Presently it’s only FlySafair, Mango, Airlink and Cemair that are contesting the domestic market.

“As at the start of November, we’ll be operating at full capacity again”, says Kirby Gordon Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair, “While this is great for us, the problem is that we’re hitting a cap now where demand for flights is going to outstrip supply resulting in higher prices, unless some of our competitors can return to action”.

Before the national lockdown, FlySafair was operating about 24% of the domestic seat capacity in South Africa, that share is presently sitting at about 76% because major competitors Kulula and British Airways remain in a dormant state awaiting relaunch after business rescue proceedings. While Mango Airlines is operating, their schedule remains very slim as concerns over the future of South African Airways (Mango’s parent company) remain uncertain.

“We started up again on 15 June this year and have pretty much been carrying the mantle since then. It’s been a privilege to fly during this time and we’ve been able to continually add additional seats as demand for flights has increased, but that ability is now coming to an end because we’re operating at full tilt. We need our competition to return”.

Concerns are surfacing around the prospects of a possible second wave of Coronavirus infections, and while the potential imposition of stricter regulations may be on the horizon, leading indicators show that this December season could mean a welcome boom for local tourism.

“There’s a lot of pent-up demand, and word from the accommodation sector is that bookings for December are looking strong. The problem is that flights are going to be expensive unless we see some more capacity pumped into the market soon. Healthy competition makes flying more affordable and having options also stimulates consumer demand”.

FlySafair acknowledges the ruling made by the Advertising Regulatory Board, and recent articles written about that ruling, concerning a television commercial for our brand.

As depicted in our commercial, and as demonstrated by our recent actions of removing a passenger from a flight for refusing to wear a mask, FlySafair takes the issue of mask-wearing compliance very seriously and supports the wearing of face masks to cover one’s nose and mouth in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The commercial we aired earlier last month mixed scenes of individuals boarding an aircraft wearing appropriate PPE, and scenes of South Africans reconnecting, which were repurposed from a previous commercial which can be viewed here.

The severe impact of the lockdown on our economy is well documented. The aviation industry is one that was particularly hard hit. In an effort to keep costs low during a very difficult period we chose to carefully edit appropriate scenes from a pre-existing commercial for use in this one in order to save costs. It might be interesting to note that the new commercial is also only 20 seconds long, rather than the traditional 30 seconds, for the same reason.

A disclaimer was included at the end of the commercial to explain that some scenes were filmed before the pandemic and to emphasise our support for mask-wearing.

FlySafair absolutely supports responsible business, and responsible advertising. Our television commercial was never intended to advocate any sort of irresponsible behavior and we encourage the work of the Advertising Regulatory Board.

6 October 2020, Johannesburg – The newest addition to FlySafair’s fleet, a Boeing 737-800 Next-Generation aircraft, touched down at OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday last week. A second aircraft is due later this month. FlySafair has been slowly increasing capacity since restarting operations in June this year, and these new arrivals will allow for further expansion helping to increase capacity as demand for local travel grows.

Last week the International Air Transport Association (IATA), published new statistics that indicated that 4.5 million African jobs will be lost in aviation and aviation-related industries thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. This accounts for well over half of the 7.7 million jobs in the sector. South Africa will certainly be no exception to this, as the fate of most local airlines remains hanging in the balance.

“Now’s a great time to look to expand your fleet, if you’re in a position to do so, because with the industry being where it is, there are plenty of aircraft up for grabs at very reasonable prices” says Kirby Gordon, CMO of FlySafair.

FlySafair’s careful resource planning has allowed it to recommence operations, while also ensuring the safety of its employees and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This circumspect approach has always stood it in good stead as a bullish competitor in the local market. The Center for Aviation (CAPA) reports that capacity in South Africa is down about 70% from this time last year and that upwards of 74% of the seats available on the local market are being operated by FlySafair.

“It was important to us that we get our operations going as soon as it was feasible to do so, especially as it was clear that there was not going to be any state support for our sector. We’re also in the fortunate position where we perform all our own maintenance, so there’s been no reliance on possibly unstable third parties in that regard”.

FlySafair’s new aircraft, already painted in the company colours, will begin operations as soon as registration requirements are processed by the South African Civil Aviation Authority.

“This new addition will help to increase capacity and hopefully push fares down a bit”, says Gordon who added, “we’ve been holding the mantle for a while now and it’s important that we get more capacity into the market through our own expansion, and through the return of competitors. Our economy needs lots of affordable air access as a catalyst for recovery”.

Our president has advised against unnecessary air travel, but it is still safe to travel as long as you adhere to recommended safety practices.

In line with this, FlySafair has implemented a no-touch policy to reduce physical contact between customers and staff to limit the spread of COVID-19. So please do not hand your phone, boarding pass, ID or other items to any of our staff. Rather display such items for scanning or checking while holding onto them.

To avoid unnecessary contact, we offer travel solutions that limit contact with others. These include, but are not limited to:

• Travel light – if possible, travel with hand luggage only.
• Online check-in – skip the queues at the check-in desks. If you have a checked bag, it still needs to be dropped off at the check-in counter.
• Digital boarding pass – instead of using a printed boarding pass, when checking in online, download or Whatsapp it directly to your and other travellers’ phones.

Your health

If you don’t have any symptoms like a fever, cough or a stuffy nose, and you are implementing safe hygiene practices, you are safe to fly.

Most importantly, look after your health by strictly adhering to the advised safety protocols.
So specifically,

• Wash your hands regularly and carry your hand sanitiser/sanitising wipes along
• Be aware of surface contamination
• Keep your distance from other people
• Avoid touching your face
• Cough and sneeze into a tissue or folded elbow

If you do feel ill during a flight, please be sure to alert a cabin crew member immediately.

If you have any questions, we are here to help.