South African low-cost carrier Mango will turn its attentions to expanding into routes beyond South Africa as it continues on recent strong growth.
Its chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout, having completed a second stint as acting chief of parent company South African Airways, says that after relatively slow growth during the first few years, Mango has increased its output 71% since 2010. It has been growing at double-digit rates and will do so again this year.
Mango's latest new route, a link between Lanseria and Durban, begins next month. The route is already served by rival South African low-cost carrier Kulula.
The carrier's expansion has been covered by Mango's existing fleet of seven Boeing 737-800s, but Bezuidenhout says this will grow to meet its near-term expansion. "Over the next 12-18 months we will bring two more aircraft in," he says.
This capacity will be used to help support expansion beyond its home market. The airline already serves Zanzibar in Tanzania from Johannesburg and Bezuidenhout says Mango will now start to look more expansion into Africa. "We are looking to identify more leisure-orientated African routes," he says.
While its parent SAA continues to battle through major restructuring in a bid to stem losses, Mango has been profitable for the last three years. Results for its financial year just ended have not been published, Bezuidenhout says the low-cost unit will record profits this year.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
