Red-faced Skywise back in the air

Skywise told Moneyweb on Monday it was “due to an internal oversight and administrative glitch” and the matter was immediately resolved.

According to ATNS spokesperson Percy Marokane negotiations for the payment of the outstanding fees are however ongoing. He confirmed the grounding has been lifted.

Marokane would not disclose any further details about the amount outstanding,

This has raised the question whether Skywise will be the latest local low-cost airline to fail, after the earlier demise of Velvet Sky and 1Time. Domestic low-cost airlines have been in fierce competition with especially newcomers Skywise and FlySafair which offer low ticket prices that have been described as unsustainable.

Skywise made the following announcement on its Facebook page around midday on Sunday:

“Dear Skywise passengers
We experienced an unexpected technical fault this morning, hence the disruptions we are experiencing. The only flights affected were 105 & 112 the rest of the flights are expected to operate on schedule. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience suffered. We will keep you updated should there be further developments.”

Upset passengers responded on Facebook:

It seems the airline was not able to resolve its problems on Sunday, because in a statement on Monday it indicated that two flights on Monday were also affected.

Skywise said it has a fleet of three aircraft “and yesterday one of these developed a technical fault that needed urgent attention. As usual, we had to prioritise the safety of our passengers. This led to the cancelation of two flights: Sunday – Flight S8 112, Flight S8 117and Monday – Flight S8 108 and S8 103.”

It said passengers were compensated with vouchers and accommodated on other flights later during the day.

“Passengers affected in Cape Town for long hours were entertained by MattBlack, a renowned entertainer from Cape Town,” Skywise said.

The airline apologised “for the delays and inconveniences we have absolutely no control over but which we are responsible for.”

Skywise started operating in February this year and operates eight flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town every day. It says it is planning to add more routes by the end of the year and to add two more Boeing 737 planes to its fleet next year.

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