20 African Pilot April 2015
Airline Business
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS CARGO WINS THE
AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR AWARD
South African Airways Cargo has won another international award. It was
named as the African Cargo Airline of the Year at the STAT Times International
Award for Excellence in Air Cargo presented at a glittering Gala Award
ceremony held at the Barnyard Theatre in Rivonia, north of Johannesburg.
The STAT Times International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo is awarded
every two years as part of the Air Cargo Africa event. The Award was
instituted by the STAT Trade Times, the fl agship publication of STAT Media
Group, an international multimodal transport media house based in India.
The publication has been recognising and awarding excellence in the
air cargo industry since 2006, placing special emphasis on excellence in
performance by air cargo operators.
The International Award for Excellence is instituted in various sectors of the air
cargo industry. The award recipients were decided by the worldwide readers of
STAT Times via an online poll that ran from 1 January to 31 January 2015.
Mr. Tleli Makhetha, SAA Cargo’s GM said, “It is an honour to be the winner
in this category and we are humbled by the recognition received from the air
cargo industry. The award will encourage us to work even harder to ensure
that all our customers’ needs are met. We are grateful to our customers
who have shown loyalty towards our business for many years. We remain
resolute to provide them with excellent service.”
ARE THERE MORE JET AIRLINERS THAN THE MARKET CAN ABSORB?A prominent research fi rm is warning that Airbus and Boeing may be on a
path to produce more airliners than the market can absorb. The two aircraft
builders are planning to hike production of the A320-family and 737-family
narrow body jets by 20% between 2014-18, on top of a 40% increase seen
from 2010-14. However, a substantial reduction in aircraft retirements, lower
oil prices and the possibility of higher interest rates in the U.S. could combine
to weaken demand and lead to a glut of jets.
This warning has come just days after Airbus announced it will increase output
of A320s to 50 per month by early 2017, up from 42 per month currently. The
European giant also revealed that it is talking with its suppliers about taking
A320 production up to 60 per month. For its part, Boeing is planning to raise
production of 737s to 52 per month in 2018, up from 42 currently. Huge
backlogs at Airbus and Boeing enabled the two aircraft manufacturers to
sail through the global economic downturn of 2008-09, but some analysts
believe that has created a false sense of security. The production schedules
announced by Airbus and Boeing suggest that the global fl eet of in-service
airline seats will grow 7% annually, whilst global traffi c may only grow at
about 5%. Meanwhile, a drop in crude oil prices from more than $100 a
barrel last summer to about $50 per barrel has made it less imperative to
retire older, gas-guzzling jets.Analysts say aircraft retirement levels are down 34% from a year ago and it
is estimated that every 10% decline in fuel prices will decrease retirements
by 6%. Another question is whether historically low interest rates in the
U.S. will rise, now that the country’s economy is on a sounder footing.
Estimates show that a 1% rise in interest rates would decrease aircraft
retirements by about 10%.MANGO LAUNCHES NEW LOOK UNIFORM AS AIRLINE
CELEBRATES 13 MILLION GUESTS FLOWN
Last month, low cost airline Mango showed off its new uniform on all its
fl ights, whilst at the same time the airline celebrated another milestone,
carrying its thirteenth million guest since the airline’s launch in 2006. The
new look uniform was designed through a collaborative process by Mango
employees and is manufactured in South Africa. By Friday 6 March the
carrier expects all staff will be donned in the new uniform.“Mango opted not to pursue designer brands in developing our new uniform,” says
spokesperson Hein Kaiser, “but rather sought opinion and contributions from inside
the business. It was important to encapsulate the culture and heritage of Mango
in the new uniforms while also upping the ante and appropriately representing the
growth of our brand.” The result is a sleek and professional look that also has some
retro elements in it. “The new look shows inspiration of the retro glamour of aviation
a few decades ago while representing who we are as a business right now.” Clean,
tailored lines and softer hues are woven into the look. The fl ight deck moves away
from a pure orange shirt to traditional white with orange trim and, in line with a retro
feel, leather aviator jackets as opposed to formal.Mango was launched just over eight years ago with its fi rst fl ight on 15
November 2006. Since then, the airline has broken several records. “We
reached our millionth guest in record time and during March the airline
carried its thirteen millionth guest,” says Kaiser. This is across a current
fl eet of 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft fl ying to seven domestic ports and
Zanzibar with more than 12 million kilometres fl own. “Mango remains the
only carrier in Africa to offer Wi-Fi on board and our wide payment method
and distribution network has served to stimulate market growth and
develop the un-fl own market.” He says that Mango’s mobi-apps, another
fi rst, has also reached more than 100 000 downloads. “Innovation and
‘upping the ante’ along with growing the market remains the essence of
Mango. We will continue to offer the most affordable fares on aggregate.”
Mango also remains the most on-time domestic low cost airline for the
past seven years.SAAC team after receiving the African Cargo Airline of the Year Award
Mango uniforms