Safair to launch its own low cost carrier

Safair has been granted approval by the South Africa's Air Service Licensing Council to launch their own domestic scheduled operation, FlySafair.

Offering up to ten 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 tickets 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 a 75% South African shareholding, with the other 25% owned by the Irish ASL Aviation Group.

Since the early eighties, Safair has also been working with international aid partners such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, World Food Programme and the United Nations, providing flights and carrying goods and supplies into the rest of Africa, and in fact the world, as part of their commitment to corporate social investment.

“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,” said Andrew.