South African Airline 1Time files for Liquidation.

Really sad…

You can add USAfrica Airways (Although not strictly South African) and Luxavia to the list of fallen airlines.

Regarding the remaining airlines, Mango belongs to SAA and Kulula belongs to Comair.

I realised that I just wasn’t sure if there were any others I didn’t know of. Given that SAA, Airlink and Express work so closely together they and the Comair companies effectively make for a duopoly, never good for competition.

Flitestar
Avia
Phoenix Airways
Sun Air
Nationwide
Velvet Sky
1Time

I don’t remember Phoenix but I flew with all of the others. Sun Air on the 727 were a fantastic experience so much so that when they went I wondered if they had simply spent too much on product relative to the fares. Avia on a 747SP were interesting but not great.

The Democratic Alliance said on Friday that South African Airways (SAA) must offer discounted flights to stranded 1Time passengers.

“As the long-time beneficiary of generous government support… SAA should do everything it can to assist 1Time passengers, and we strongly encourage them to offer discounted flight options to stranded 1Time travellers,” DA MP Natasha Michael said in a statement.

She said the liquidation proved that private airlines could not compete with their state-funded counterparts.

“Does every privately funded domestic airline have to shut down before government admits that the funding model for the national carrier is killing the aviation industry?” Michael asked.

Venter said 10 out of 11 private airlines launched in South Africa since the industry was deregulated in 1991 had failed.

“Due to the less efficient fleet it operated, the ultimate closure of 1Time was inevitable,” he said in a statement.

“However, we are certain that in the absence of state-subsidised Mango, 1Time would have made adequate profits to upgrade its fleet and be sustainable over the long term.”

He said Comair would have to put up resistance to “unfair competition” from SAA and Mango.

“This is not new to us… We have been dealing with this for most of our history.”

Mango chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout said the airline regretted the liquidation.

“While we may have been competitors, the liquidation of 1Time is not good news. Not only does it impact the families of employees but also thousands of people with confirmed travel across the country and the aviation sector as a whole,” Bezuidenhout said.

“It is also sad to see that around 1 000 1Time staff have lost their jobs at a time when job creation is a national imperative.”

From Timeslive

Not being an economist nor having a crystal ball, I cannot say how SAA would fare if it were privatized. I do know that in a free market system, the best win and the worst fail. The only involvement a government should have is to make sure that the operators maintain strict safety and ethical standards. How would you judge BA’s privatization?

Regarding the remaining airlines, Mango belongs to SAA and Kulula belongs to Comair.

Here is a list of airlines which failed in South Africa since “deregulation” in the 1990s.

Flitestar
Avia
Phoenix Airways
Sun Air
Nationwide
Velvet Sky
1Time

I worked for Phoenix and Sun Air but I resigned from Sun Air just before its demise.

Always a shame when another one goes. Good luck to those affected.

So that leaves SAA, Mango, SA Airlink, SA Express, Comair BA and Kulula. Anyone else?

I know a lot of South Africans object to SAA being propped up by the government. What would aviation in SA look like if SAA had to support itself?

Yes indeed, 500 people out on the street today, many of the pilots are ex colleagues :(. This is a bad blow for private enterprise in the country as the skies are dominated by SAA (government owned) who cover their losses with taxpayer’s money. 😡 They are getting a huge bailout soon.