New airline might not take off

Johannesburg - The wings of Airtime Airlines, a new carrier, could be clipped before its first plane takes to the air. The company plans its first flight for January 25.

Rumours about the airline, which is based in Durban, have been doing the rounds for the past two months, but Sapa reports that the contract in terms of which Airtime would lease three aeroplanes for its operations has fallen through.

Airtime was to lease the three Boeing 737-200s from the Lanseria-based group Air Aquarius, as well as use the group's airline operating licence for its activities.

According to Sapa, Gavin Branson, chief executive of Air Aquarius, has announced that the rental agreement has come to naught.

Airtime Airline's holding company, Blackbird Aviation, expressed interest in the aircraft of the liquidated airline Nationwide last year, but no agreement has been reached.

Neither is it clear whether the new airline is able to obtain an airline operator's licence in time to start flying this month.

On its website the new airline states that bookings for flights between Durban and Johannesburg on January 25 can already been made. It also says that flights from Durban to Cape Town and Port Elizabeth can be booked on the website by January 11.

The new airline classifies itself as a low-cost operator that will compete with existing low-cost airlines such as 1time, kulula.com and Mango.

"The concept of Airtime Airlines is, however, unique," says a source working for the new operator.

"We sell airtime and not flight tickets. This means, for instance, that in order to fly from Durban to Johannesburg a passenger would need 75 minutes of airtime. The cost of these airtime minutes varies almost daily, with the implication that if a traveller gets a good rate on a good day, he could commute between Durban and Johannesburg for R375."

The airline's website, flyairtime.com, is operational and Sake24.com established that the airline is already selling tickets. But no official spokesperson for the new airline was available to speak to Sake24.com on Tuesday.

The local market for low-cost airlines in South Africa is congested, declared Gidon Novick, kulula.com joint CEO, last year when approached regarding rumours about the new airline. "We also see a decline in flight bookings for the new year and expect demand to fall further. This will make the market even smaller."

- For more business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.