South Africa's CemAir acquires sixteen ex-Delta CRJ100s

South African Airways details relaunch plans due in 3Q21

South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has confirmed it will resume commercial passenger operations on September 23 on one domestic and five regional routes following a 21-month hiatus during which it was plucked from bankruptcy protection through a controversial taxpayer-funded ZAR10.5 billion rand (USD683 million) bailout.

Restarting as a significantly smaller airline with a fleet that has shrunk from 44 to just six aircraft and a workforce that has been reduced from 4,000 to 802 employees and five interim executives, SAA will start-off with one domestic return route between Johannesburg O.R. Tambo and Cape Town, as well as regionally from Johannesburg to Accra (Ghana), Kinshasa N'Djili (DRC), Harare Int'l (Zimbabwe), Lusaka (Zambia), and Maputo (Mozambique), interim Chief Executive Officer Thomas Kgokolo said in a statement. SAA will add more destinations to the route network as it ramps up operations in response to market conditions.

Tickets will go on sale on August 26, while Voyager loyalty programme bookings and travel credit voucher redemption will be available from...

South African Airways finalising fleet, restart plans - CEO

South Africa's Lift resumes flights, Comair remains grounded

Lift Airlines (GE, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) will resume all flights on its only route - between Johannesburg O.R. Tambo and Cape Town - on Sunday, August 1, 2021, after Pretoria eased COVID-19 leisure travel restrictions to/from Gauteng Province following declining infections.

The start-up, owned by Global Aviation Operations (GE, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo), had temporarily downed all flights on July 5 due to plummeting demand as South Africa grappled to contain a third wave of the COVID-19 Delta variant, which particularly affected Gauteng, the most populated province that includes Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria. The South African government on June 28 had announced a 14-day lockdown, which was extended to July 25.

Travel demand was further affected by riots and widespread looting in Johannesburg and KwaZulu Natal (KZN) following the July 9 incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma on contempt of court charges. The former head-of-state had refused to testify at the country's Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture during his 10-year tenure which ended in 2017.

Chief Executive Officer...

Comair downs flights as South Africa battles new COVID wave

Comair (South Africa) (MN, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) is temporarily suspending all scheduled Kulula Air and British Airways franchise flights for three weeks following plunging travel demand as South Africa battles a third wave of COVID-19.

The airline announced on July 2 that it would suspend all flights from Monday, July 5, 2021, and aims to recommence services on July 30, subject to the easing of restrictions and the containment of infections, particularly in Gauteng, the worst affected province which contains Johannesburg and Pretoria.

“This was a difficult decision, but we believe that under the circumstances it is the right course of action,” said Chief Executive Officer Glenn Orsmond.

The airline’s administrator, Richard Ferguson, said it was the responsible thing to do to ensure the safety of passengers and staff. It was also motivated by the current ban on all leisure travel to/ from Gauteng, little demand for business and leisure travel elsewhere in the country, and no connecting traffic from international carriers, he said.

Comair’s move comes hard on the...