According to Lift CEO, Jonathan Ayache, flight tickets are much more affordable than they have been the previous year.
The past year flight tickets in South Africa went extremely high with an over 60% increase. The increase was due to fewer local flights available caused by the pandemic.
This month the tickets have decreased in price but that may not be good as news as one would think for the industry and consumers.
Ayeche also shared that before Covid the air travel demand was around 80%, even though the demands still have not fully recovered, according to Business Tech reports. He continues to share that the number of people who can afford to fly to South Africa will be reduced as per the country’s domestic macroeconomic situation.
In 2022, Comair faced liquidation. The company operates multiple airlines, Kulula.com being one of them and it was a domestic partner for British Airways in South Africa. The company closed off 40% of domestic airlines. The liquidation resulted in a ticket price hike.
However, the industry is noticing some positive changes as the domestic market is receiving oversupply with low demand.
“There’s an oversupply, which seems great for passengers right now because they can get a return trip to Johannesburg for cheap; however, it is not sustainable. You see what happened with Mango (and) Comair – it’s not good for competition,” said the CEO.
Ayeche said, there’s an opportunity for the airline industry as soon as the economy starts to recover and get the hang of load shedding.
