Hilka Birns/CAPE TOWN
Fresh Air is the latest start-up proposing to enter the South African domestic market with scheduled flights between Johannesburg and the Kruger National Park, Richards Bay, Bloemfontein and Kimberley.
The start-up is being planned by a Johannesburg-based consulting group, Aero Africa Management, owned by Fred Brons, a former partner in Lanseria Airport-based charter operator AirQuarius, prior to which he headed aircraft leasing operations at Safair.
Brons confirms Aero Africa Management is investigating the viability of an airline, but says it is too premature to comment. South Africa's Department of Transport says it has not yet issued a scheduled licence to the company.
Well-placed sources say Aero Africa Management is negotiating with Johannesburg's National Airways Corporation for the purchase of six 19-seat Raytheon Beech 1900Ds and plans to start services in November. Fresh Air would compete on some of the most profitable routes operated by domestic carriers SA Express and SA Airlink. It would also face competition from Cape Town-based Civair, which this month launched scheduled services between Johannesburg and Kimberley. Inaugural flights took off with a Raytheon King Air 90, but the carrier plans to upgrade to a 19-seat Fairchild Metro.
Source: Flight International
