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Cape Town – There was a time when the domestic aviation sector in South Africa looked like it was in deep, deep trouble thanks to the domino closure of Velvet Sky and 1time in 2012.
But the dominance enjoyed by the likes of kulula and Mango for the last three years has been clipped as new domestic players FlySafair and Skywise revitalise the local aviation sector, with Fastjet champing at the regulation bit to enter the market.
Ultimately this has spelled healthy competition, serving in the favour of passengers, proven by recent price-comparison research based on Travelstart.co.za bookings.
Travelstart compared January and February 2015 flight prices against the same period last year and found that 14 local routes were cheaper than in 2014.
The information shows consumers paid 39% less for a flight from Cape Town to George in January / February 2015, while the popular commuter route from Johannesburg to Cape Town was on average 16% less than what it was at the same time last year.
"Of the 18 routes analysed, only 4 are more expensive than what they were at the same time last year, ” said Russell Jarvis, head of communications for TravelStart.
“Our research shows how demand for local flights has increased since 2014. For example, on the popular commuter route between Joburg and Cape Town, we have seen a 38% increase in bookings, while George to Cape Town has gone up 138%.”
Routes which are cheaper now according to TravelStart than what they were 1 year ago:
Routes which are more expensive now according to TravelStart than what they were 1 year ago:
Travelstart attributes the decrease in domestic fares to the entry of FlySafair who commenced operations in October 2014.
“We’ve noticed a trend where airfares on previously monopolized routes have come down significantly since last year”, said Jarvis.
“It’s interesting to note that most of the routes where there was a marked decrease in prices are all routes where FlySafair now have a presence”.
Of the 18 routes analysed, the top 10 which have significantly reduced in price since 2014 are routes operated by newcomer, FlySafair.
Consumers should however consider FlySafair’s extra baggage fees which did not form part of the information released by Travelstart. While charging an additional amount for luggage is consistent with the true low cost carrier business model, these extra charges were not factored into the flight prices displayed above.
But while the marked decrease in flight prices is welcomed, Travelstart says consumers should be wary of hastily accepting current prices as a sign of things to come.
“FlySafair’s low prices are typical of a launch strategy whereby an airline decreases prices on the routes they operate in order to gain some market share from competitors”.
Independently owned low-cost carrier Skywise, which finally took to South African skies on 5 March after suffering numerous licensing issues, joins the now healthily competed and high traffic route between Johannesburg and Cape Town with their twice daily flights.
“We eagerly anticipate the impact of Skywise’s entry into the market, and hope to see prices move even further in the favour of consumers as the six major domestic airlines in South Africa try to remain competitive,” said Jarvis.
