Do budget airlines still have a future in SA?
The distinction between budget and normal airlines are disappearing. Airlines have to adapt or if they don’t, they run the risk of going under. Great customer service will be successful. And upgrading their fleets is of the utmost importance as the world focuses on a seemingly declining safety risk. The high fuel costs are a huge problem. Prices will inevitably go up. On Kulula’s side we are still trying to restrict any drastic increases and we have implemented a fuel-efficient fleet which uses 26% less fuel burnt. This means that because our fleet is more fuel-efficient and the aircraft bigger which means they can carry more passengers, we are reaping a double benefit. What impact did the accusations by the Department of Labour on employment equity non-compliance have on the business? None whatsoever. In fact, we had very positive press coverage. It was an administrative problem to start with as we have a very strong BEE policy in place. in fact, 2/3 of our staff complement of 1,700 a
