Speaking at the Satsa Conference at Spier on August 17, a ppanel discussion spoke about the impact of the arrival of low-cost, long-haul airlines into Africa came up at a panel discussion on air access.

During the discussion it was noted by Sylvain Bosc, Chief Commercial Officer of fastjet, that passengers who fly on low-cost, long-haul airlines are not budget travellers as many would imagine but are the same as those travellers who are already coming to South Africa.

Travellers on low-cost, long-haul airlines are likely to spend a substantial amount during their travels on top of their airfare. Bosc said the reality was that the entry of low-cost, long-haul carriers was just a response to consumer demand for more cost-effective air travel.

However, in the case of Cape Town, to be profitable there needed to be an even bigger economy-class section than business due to the leisure/business split.

Bosc said air access had opened up in South Africa, in some instances to the detriment of its national carrier, resulting in increasingly affordable airfares, but this did not mean that the country could not attract even more traffic.

He suggested that South Africa needed to develop cheaper infrastructure, as SA airports are some of the most expensive in the world in terms of infrastructure and airport taxes.

Also speaking on the panel, Linda Pampallis, CEO of Thompsons Africa, posed the question that, when looking at greater air access, did the trade talk to all the players in the industry? She said industry associations like Satsa and Asata could help the trade work together with airlines and government when it came to identifying new routes.

The massive growth in aviation into and within SA may possibly also have been too fast for the country, with the lack of hotel capacity stopping airlines from further growth in destinations like Cape Town and Johannesburg. Therefore this potential business is spilling over into destinations like Zimbabwe and Mozambique.