Good news for South African flight tickets

FlySafair, a South African low-cost airline, predicts that local flight prices will fall to more familiar levels by February 2023. This comes after a period in which volatility and a lack of airline seat supply caused a temporary increase in the average cost of a flight ticket.

Kirby Gordon, FlySafair chief marketing officer, said, “We expect that airfares will really normalize in late January to early February. This will be a product of a natural lull in seasonal demand and, more significantly, an increase in the number of seats available in the market.”

FlySafair said they will add at least six more Boeing 737-800 aircraft to its fleet of 25 by the end of April next year.

“While we have been doing everything, we can to add capacity, it’s not something we can roll out at the drop of a hat. It takes a huge amount of planning to bring in a new aircraft.

“Everything from staffing resources to route scheduling is taken into consideration so as to ensure the best levels of efficiency across our network and ultimately the long-term sustainability of the airline,”

FlySafair reported that it operated over 5,450 flights between December 1 and January 31 last summer. This equates to slightly less than a million seats. This summer, the airline has increased this to 7,652 flights and approximately 1.4 million seats, representing a 141% increase over the same period last year.

“We’ve added a lot of capacity this year. To grow this fast has been a challenge, but the market still needs the additional capacity, so we’ve committed to upping the pace of expansion.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without our dedicated staff around the country. It’s through their commitment that we are able to continue to grow and build more opportunities for others in the airline industry and take our business to new heights,” said Gordon