Zimbabwean LCC startup, FreshAir, the 51/49 joint venture between Nu.Com (Pvt) Ltd of Zimbabwe and 1Time Holdings Ltd of South Africa, are set to launch operations on 2 November 2012 with Victoria Falls - Johannesburg (ORTIA), South Africa as their initial route. |
| FreshAir Zimbabwe's Adverts (HarareAirportBlogger) |
The route launch will coincide with 1Time's (T6) withdrawal from the Johannesburg - Livingstone, Zambia (Victoria Falls' sister town on the Zambian side of the Falls).
Said 1Time CEO, Blackie Komani:
“The result is that 1time’s operating cost will remain the same and the benefit to us is that our load factors will be much higher,” Komani says. "We also believe that Zimbabwe will benefit by the introduction of a low cost carrier to help stimulate tourism as well as business trade between the two countries," he added.
FreshAir's website - http://www.fly-fresh.com - is still under construction, however.
The route schedule, as it stands, includes three weekly flights from Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport on Mondays and Fridays at 1040L respectively, as well as a Sunday flight at 1020L.
With 1Time set to miss its three-month deadline for submitting its accounts to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange for its half-year period to end June 30, the new airline's launch will most certainly bring with it renewed sense of optimism for the future as their sole would-be competitor on the Zimbabwean side of the border, Air Zimbabwe (UM), has yet to resume any form of operations despite much publicity in the Government press about a possible resurrection of Harare - Johannesburg flights.