Marcus Van Heerden, the owner of Blu Crane Air, the Port Elizabeth based start up, says his plan for the airline is to fill "a gap in the Eastern Cape air route network," and not to compete with established carriers, though the addition of charter operations to Mozambique and Namibia in future does remain a possibility. |
| Blue Crane Air's Cessna 414 |
While Dr Van Heerden stated that his airline's main focus would be to offer a personalized service tailored to the local business market, pilot Daven van Heerden, added that, after three months, should operations take off, the airline will look at expanding.
“We want to be able to completely fill the gaps found in short-haul routes in the Eastern Cape. The idea is to use a bigger 12-seater aircraft on our East London route and then use the smaller aircraft to service George, King William’s Town and Umtata from Port Elizabeth.”
Source [Tourism Update]
The airline also plans to charter flights out of Port Elizabeth to destinations such as Mozambique and Namibia, he said.
As part of his airline's loyalty scheme, Van Heerden, who also owns a hotel in Knysna, says the airline will give passengers who have purchased 20 flights and more per year, a two-night stay at the property in Knysna.
Pending the issuance of its AOC by the South African Civil Aviation Authority, Blu Crane Air was due to have launched its first flights between Port Elizabeth and East London today.
