Africa-Press – Mauritius. Once low-cost domestic airline FlySafair is expanding its international routes. In the wake of several airline casualties, it’s rapidly becoming less of a low-cost carrier and more of an economical regional airline.
But most foreign flights you can currently book on their website are not great deals. Of those checked by Business Insider South Africa, only select routes to Mauritius are competitive.
This is because despite selling tickets to at least seven African destinations via its website, the only foreign route FlySafair is actually operating is to Mauritius. Expanding into Africa Since 2021, FlySafair has looked to expand its routes into the rest of Africa.
Mostly, it’s been picking up the slack left by the demise of several airlines in the wake of Covid-19 and the dramatic slimming down of SAA’s regional options post business rescue.
It kicked these off with an announcement in 2021 that it would operate two weekly flights between South Africa and Mauritius starting in December of that year – a plan that Omicron travel bans temporarily scuppered.
Since then, the airline has revealed aggressive plans to launch flights to 11 new destinations within southern Africa – including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Seychelles.
And, more recently, it announced flights to Namibia and Zanzibar. In the wake of these announcements, an initial glance on the FlySafair booking platform would suggest they’re already flying to many of these destinations.
But there’s a catch FlySafair currently operates only one of these bookable foreign flights – to Mauritius. For all others, they’re simply acting as an agent, and charging you a commission that makes them much more expensive.
On flights checked by Business Insider South Africa, booking flights through the FlySafair website to other African destinations where FlySafair does not yet fly costs between R734 and R1,400.
In general, FlySafair charges about 10% more than if you booked directly with the operating airline, all of whom run their own perfectly efficient websites.
Although once you’re through to the confirmation page it’s clearer you’ll be flying on a partner or soon-to-be competitor’s plane, it’s not clear that you’ll likely be paying quite a bit more for the fligth than if you booked on the operating airline’s website.
Here’s how FlySafair’s Mauritius fares stack up FlySafair does, however, actually fly its own planes to Mauritius – and offers pretty good deals compared to the competition on that route.
Depending on when you fly and how long you’re prepared to stay. Options and pricing may also improve once they’ve activated more than the two weekly return flights – which FlySafair says is something in the works.
If you’re feeling spontaneous: We found short-notice flights between Johannesburg and Mauritius on FlySafair for R3,200 one way. This is cheaper than any competing airline fare we could identify.
The catch: Unless you stay ten days or longer or switch carriers for the return leg, you’ll need to stump up at least R7,700 for the return flight – which brings the round-trip fare back up to what most other airlines charge for this route.
A more realistic and stable analysis: A flight in April reveals FlySafair’s lowest fares return to Mauritius, for a four-night stay, cost R5,700 each way, or R11,400 return.
A flight with Air Mauritius, on the same day cost about R1,307 less. And travel company Gotogate, which has a few fine print hoops to consider, currently advertises the same flight on Air Mauritius for the lowest fare – at R8,862.
If you push your trip out to May: You can get a return FlySafair flight for R7,900 on a few dates in May, which seems to be FlySafair’s mid-term sweet spot for good deals at the moment.
On the exact dates, competitors Air Mauritius and South African Airways charge about R2,500 more. New regional flights are still some time away With airline ticket pricing algorithms still among the world’s most closely-guarded secrets, it pays to do comprehensive research on all options if pricing is your priority.
And, for the most part, to book directly on the airline you’re flying’s website, rather than through an intermediary. With FlySafair Africa flights other than that to Mauritius, you’ll still have to wait a little time before FlySafair is serving as more than an agent.
“There’s still quite a long process to get through once the International Air Services Licensing Council has given their go-ahead.
We still have to apply for foreign operators permits with both the South African and foreign Civil Aviation Authorities,” Kirby Gordon, the airline’s chief marketing officer, told Business Insider SA.
“This requires specific audits of various service providers on both sides of the border, and many of the foreign ones are still being identified and negotiated.
So it’s quite a long process to get the actual operations lined up before we can commit to schedules. ” Gordon says they are currently working with the various airports to obtain details on specific taxes before they can announce fares.
Still, they’re aiming to keep them in line with their approach elsewhere, which is “an economy product at a competitive price”. “Expansion is key for us as we look to grow our business.
Our venture to Mauritius has been great as we’ve managed to bring down fares while improving connectivity between the two countries and we’re excited for the opportunity to do the same with some of our other neighbours, too,” Gordon says.
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