The rise and fall of South Africa’s airlines

South African aviation has long been a ruthless sector.

Airlines rise with great ambitions, only to fall prey to cutthroat competition and, often, an uneven playing field.

Since the 1950s, roughly 100 passenger and cargo airlines have taken to the skies, only to have someone else eventually eat their lunch.

No airline was ever too big to fail

No airline was ever too big to fail. Comair, Mango and SAA’s business rescue sorties taught the industry this.

The demise of Flitestar in 1994 had already warned of the dangers of being a challenger brand.

Nationwide Airlines arrived in 1995, positioning itself as a full-service alternative to SAA and, for a while, it worked. Nationwide even flew international routes to London.

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But in 2007, the airline suffered an unforgettable PR disaster when an engine detached from a Boeing 737. The writing was on the wall. By 2008, Nationwide was gone, just as the lowcost revolution began.

If the 2000s belonged to anyone, it was the budget airlines. Kulula burst onto the scene in 2001 as the cheeky green-clad disruptor. It had a good run, a very good run alongside Comair stable mate, a British Airways South Africa franchise.

After surviving economic slumps, including the 2008 global financial crisis and near-total industry collapse during Covid, Kulula finally succumbed in 2022 when Comair went belly up and, with it, the BA premium side of the business.

Low-cost boom

The low-cost boom also saw 1time Airlines land in 2004.

The airline was much loved for its no-frills, humorous and often sardonic branding and affordable tickets. The company earned a reputation for excellent service, customer care and the best looking crew in the industry. But despite its initial success, 1time flew straight into liquidation in 2012.

SAA also wanted to cash in on the budget bonanza. The stateowned carrier launched Mango Airlines in 2006. Dressed in bold orange, the airline made significant inroads into the market and grew steadily.

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Unfortunately, SAA’s lowcost little sister started getting sick when SAA sneezed. When the flag carrier faltered, Mango was dragged down with it. Mango was grounded indefinitely in 2021, and its licence was formally revoked in 2022.

The graveyard of South African aviation isn’t just littered with familiar brands. It’s full of short-lived experiments and, at times, way too much testosterone.

Skywise launched in 2015 and ended in 2015 despite offering free coffees to passengers. Before that, Velvet Sky managed just over a year’s worth of flying, from 2011 to 2012, promising rock-bottom fares before vanishing into insolvency.

Some airlines faded

Fly Blue Crane – founded by a former SAA executive Siza Mzimela – had an almost two-year run and was. Phoenix Airways in the mid-90s lasted as long. Some airlines faded before they could even make a name for themselves.

Civair attempted to disrupt long-haul travel with low-cost flights between Cape Town and London but collapsed before taking off. Allegedly it sold tickets but failed to procure an aircraft to make good on the sales.

Boutique carrier Interair South Africa lasted for a dozen years and carved out a niche with regional routes, but didn’t make it past 2015. Sun Air rose from the ashes of homeland carrier Bop Air and first operated between 1994 and 1999, later relaunching in 2002 as a business class-only carrier. That lasted two years.

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SA Alliance Air launched in 1995. It was government-backed aimed at expanding regional travel. It folded five years later.

Beyond the SAA cash sinkhole, taxpayers were faced with another 16-year burden on the fiscus. SA Express lasted across presidents Nelson Mandela through to Cyril Ramaphosa’s first term in office. First started as SAA’s regional offspring, the airline limped along for years until it was finally liquidated in 2020.

It was one of the first airlines to receive a government bailout in the early 2000s, sparking an insatiable two decades of state-owned airlines playing Pacman with public funds.

2 decades of state-owned airlines playing Pacman

Now, the market is ready for a budget operator to disrupt the status quo. Lower-cost Fly Safair, hybrid Lift, SAA since business rescue, along with Airlink, rule our skies. Cemair fits somewhere in between. Defunct Mango’s sale has been imminent for years and Comair is dead for good.

Word is that there is a new lowcost contender on the horizon. It is unlikely to be Linked-In based airline Joly Airways, nor Skylink. Both these have not left social media for the real world, despite many “coming soon” promises.

One thing’s for sure. In SA aviation is an exhilarating, unpredictable and at times downright tragic ride.

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