They Ate the Golden Goose
Almost two weeks ago another airline in South Africa hit the wall as they could not raise another capital to bail themselves out of trouble. Comair was responsible for almost 40 % of flight bookings and has left a massage void that needs filling. Mango and Kulula (part of Comair) were airlines that have also vanished within the last 2 years leaving the dregs behind.
Imagine you have the 9th busiest route in the world and you screw it up.
The biggest issue is "cheap tickets" as there are none to be found as prices have risen due to lack of competition. I mentioned this might happen a few months ago and this is exactly as feared has now happened. The "cheap tickets" that were once freely available have been replaced with "rare seats" as you will now pay extortionate fees for the flight as there are very few seats available if you are lucky to find one.
A 100 minute flight to Cape Town now will set you back double what it cost 12 months ago. One can see why the Government was reluctant to offer landing rights to other airlines wanting to fly direct to Cape Town as the Johannesburg - Cape Town route must now rank as the most lucrative route in the world. The route is the 9th busiest in the world carrying 4.7 million passengers using 34 000 flights.
What is scary is the airlines left to carry them are on the bones of their backsides and have insufficient fleets to fulfill the demand. I am lost for words how such a lucrative route could be abused so badly that airlines cannot makes ends meet.
Trains are of such poor standard and take a full day to travel this route it is faster to drive. I hitchhiked the route back in the army days and beat my train by over 12 hours. Buses is not really an option either as they take way too long and are notoriously dangerous plus they break down frequently.
At the end of the day the tourist destinations along with the travel industry in Cape Town will feel the airline closures more than
anyone else. Comair would have taken 40% of those travelling on flights to the Cape and now those planes have gone for good.
SAA who were the biggest operator until corruption and misused funds sent them into business rescue has a fleet of 8 planes only. They currently operate 3 return flights per day which is just over 1000 flights to Cape Town per year. SAFair which is now the biggest airline said they were trying to ramp up to 10 flights per day which is hopelessly inadequate. My maths skills tells me they are 80% short of what is required once travel opens up which is now.
They have eaten the goose that laid the golden egg as there are no more golden eggs coming their way now. How anyone can mess up such a lucrative business is mind blowing as you literally have a demand at your finger tips. How many businesses have this type of customer demand that is just waiting to use your services?
With Covid certificates a thing of the past and masks now not a requirement the country is opening up and they are nowhere near ready to cope with the demand. This is just not normal and shows how the last few years has crippled the country.
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Yes things are looking dire for us here in South Africa. Four hour power cuts a day again. I doubt life will ever return to normal. I will get worse with time. Actually all over the world pilot shortages are arising with thousands of flights cancelled, thanks to the killer fake vax. The elites wanted to cull the planet and this is how it looks, with pilots dying and the airlines grounded in USA too.
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Absolute madness and honestly thinking of selling up now as most of the people I know have already left. There is not much to stay for as the business is still in survival mode due to lack of raw materials. Crossing fingers things change but some how cannot see that happening. Will start another business else where if it comes to that.
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Good idea buddy, relocate and adapt to the changes occurring.