Fly Go-Air, the off and on again, niche carrier aimed at the premium market in South Africa, has announced it will launch operations in late November from its hub at Johannesburg's Lanseria Airport to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport with plans to start Polokwane and Pietermaritzburg in January. In the near future, the airline is also considering flights to Bloemfontein and George and from KMIA to Cape Town.
In 2010, Fly Go-Air advertised thrice daily return flights between Pietermaritzburg, the city in which it was founded, and Gauteng, though nothing eventually came of it, as the carrier was neither able to present a convincing consumer protection arrangement nor was it able to adequately describe the terms and conditions of its contract and back-up aircraft.
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| Fly Go-Air's Intended Route Map (Fly Go-Air) |
The airline has now returned to the limelight and is aiming to exploit the “affordable premium service” niche on routes that are currently not served by any other operator. Its on-board services will include meals, beverages, alcohol and it has also innovated a unique frequent flyer program in which passengers qualify for a free flight after
every six flights flown.
Whilst no fleet plans have been outlined, it is believed Fly Go-Air will operate Embraers with its first route to launch on
November 26 between Lanseria and the Kruger Mpumalanga International
Airport (KMIA); the fare is expected to be around USD115 one way, inclusive of all
taxes.
However, with South Africa's aviation industry currently in the financial doldrums - South African Airways (SA) posting a huge USD150million loss for 2011/2012, 1Time (T6) in Business Rescue, and Comair Group the only one to have declared a profit, albeit a meagre one, for the latest Finanical Year - there are many who have said that the airline's management has chosen the worst possible time to launch a premium airline in South Africa; Comair Ltd boss Erik Venter has called them "brave and extremely rich", whilst 1Time CEO Blacky Komani said "he hoped they had deep enough pockets to weather the storm". Fly Go-Air Chief Executive Officer, Reg Sisvanker, however, has remained optimistic:
"FlyGoAir is bold in wanting to take the skies in tough times."
