THE Zululand Chamber of Business has welcomed the announcement of a new low-cost, no-frills airline, which will be operating out of Richards Bay from the end of July.
The CEO of OutThere Air, Louwrens Down, said the fares would be up to 60% lower than competing airlines currently operating out of Richards Bay Airport, and would offer business and weekend flights to Johannesburg’s OR Thambo and Lanseria, as well as Maputu in Mozambique, with transfers to nearby tourist resorts.
The airline, which already has a flight path approved for residency out of Cape Town International and Port Elizabeth, cuts costs by restricting luggage to carry-on only, offers no in-flight meals, only ‘first come, first served’ ticket sales and provides standing room only.
‘Our planes are specially equipped with hand rails along the length of the aircraft and, much as in buses, passengers stand and hold on to straps during the flight,’ said Down.
‘This is highly unconventional, but has worked successfully on our other short-hop routes,’ he said.
This does mean, however, that passengers will have to comply with a height restriction.
‘Because of the nature of the flights and the safety guidelines, we do not fly passengers who are under 1.2m tall. This does have its benefits, though, as there are no noisy children travelling on any of our routes,’ said Down.
The OutThere flight time from Richards Bay to Johanessburg is 50 minutes, and the craft can accommodate one hundred passengers per trip.
In a release from the Chamber, they lauded the introduction of a competition airline at the airport, as well as the competitive ticket prices.
‘It makes sense that this busy industrial and tourist mecca – Richards Bay – should have an additional airline,’ the release said.
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