Flight has secured exclusive photographs of the first Boeing 737-800 to be operated by South African Airways' (SAA) new budget carrier Mango.
The carrier will begin flights on 15 November and was formally unveiled at a press conference in Johannesburg on Monday. The new carrier will initially operate a fleet of four Boeing 737-800s, leased from SAA. Mango is looking to lease up to six additional 737-800s over the next few years, says Mango chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout. He says the carrier is “actively looking at 737s in the marketplace” but adds that 737-800s are “hard to come by”.
“We may grow to 10 aircraft in five years,” Bezuidenhout says. “It all depends on how well we’re received by the market.”
He admits that Mango is sub-leasing its first four 737-800s from SAA at normal market rates and under normal commercial terms. The aircraft, which are due to come off lease in 2012, will be maintained by SAA Technics.
Mango will use two aircraft to launch operations on 15 November on flights from Johannesburg's OR Tambo international airport to Cape Town and Durban. A further two aircraft will follow for the start of December, when Mango begins Bloemfontein to Durban and Cape Town.
Flight's South African correspondent Hilka Burns looked in-depth at the impact the new SAA start-up budget carrier Mango will have on South Africa's air transport market as part of Flight's series of articles on South African aerospace and aviation. Read the series here.
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Top: SAA Mango's first Boeing 737-800 has completed its paint job and is now being readied for first flight on 15 November. |
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Source: FlightGlobal.com
