Summary

  • FlySafair is reviewing its Victoria Falls and Livingstone routes, considering narrowing the focus to one airport.
  • The airline also seeks to add frequencies on the Johannesburg-Harare route, awaiting regulatory approval.
  • FlySafair has grown significantly over the last ten years, focusing on leisure destinations for international routes.

Southern Africa’s leading low-cost carrier, FlySafair, is reconsidering its strategy regarding its routes to Victoria Falls and Livingstone airports, which both offer access to the mighty Victoria Falls. FlySafair is also looking to add frequencies on the Johannesburg-Harare route, pending regulatory approval.

Narrowing the Victoria Falls routes

Last year, the low-cost carrier launched flights to Zimbabwe, serving Victoria Falls (VFA) and Harare (HRE) from Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport (JNB). At the same time, the airline also launched flights from Johannesburg to Zambia’s Livingstone Airport (LVI), another access point to the Victoria Falls – one of Africa’s most popular tourist attractions.

Livingtone-Victoria Falls map

Victoria Falls Airport and Livingstone Airport are only 19 mi (30.5 km) apart. During the AviaDev Africa conference in Namibia last week, Simple Flying caught up with FlySafair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kirby Gordon. He said that the airline is currently reviewing both routes and could possibly narrow down the focus to only serving one airport, as it is not sustainable in the long run to fly to both Victoria Falls and Livingstone. Kirby Gordon added,

“It has been very interesting to operate into both these airports and to see the pros and cons of the routes. We are currently reviewing the routes to see what we can do to possibly consolidate or narrow the focus into them and take a slightly different approach. We don’t think it is long-term sustainable to do both, but we are glad we did in terms of getting to understand what the route and the market look like.”

While FlySafair is considering narrowing the focus to only one airport, Gordon did not specify which route would be scrapped. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, there are currently 35 weekly flights from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, operated by five airlines: FlySafair, South African Airways, Airlink, CemAir, and Fastjet.

Victoria_Falls_International_Airport

Meanwhile, FlySafair and Airlink are the only airlines flying from Johannesburg to Livingstone, providing up to nine weekly flights each way. FlySafair serves Victoria Falls Airport twice-weekly on Thursdays and Sundays and Livingstone twice-weekly on Fridays and Mondays with its Boeing 737 fleet.

Increasing frequencies to Harare

Johannesburg-Harare is the busiest international route in Southern Africa. As of June 2024, there are 70 weekly flights each way, operated by the five airlines serving Victoria Falls. FlySafair entered the route in October 2023, offering lower fares and a slightly different product than other carriers.

FlySafair Boeing 737

Photo:  Nicolas JvRensburg | Shutterstock

The low-cost carrier currently operates daily flights between the two destinations. However, it has seen high demand on the route and is looking to add a second daily flight. It has already applied to the Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) and is waiting for approval before adding another frequency. Speaking about the route, Kirby Gordon said,

“We would love to add additional frequencies, so we have an application with the Air Services Licensing Council for increased frequencies on that route. We are currently flying everything we have been awarded. We are waiting for a decision on that application because it is a good route.”

Related

FlySafair Faces Hearing On Alleged Breach Of 75% Domestic Ownership Licensing Rule

South African carriers have challenged the basis of Flysafair’s license and ownership structure.

Regional expansion and consolidation

Ten years after launching commercial operations, FlySafair currently holds 60% of the domestic market in South Africa and has slowly expanded within the region. Based at Johannesburg OR Tambo, the low-cost carrier flies to eight domestic and six international destinations. Internationally, the airline strongly focuses on tourist destinations like Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Zanzibar, and Mauritius.

A FlySafair Aircraft flying over Cape Town.

Photo: FlySafair

According to Gordon, this reflects its strategy to serve mature markets and routes with enough demand to maintain a certain number of frequencies. The airline has a strong distribution network and partners in the leisure market, so it “naturally fits” in the leisure destinations.

Regarding route expansion, FlySafair is in a year of consolidation. It is not looking to add any new regional routes but might adjust frequencies where necessary. Gordon added that the strategy would remain the same for 2025, perhaps with the addition of one more aircraft and moderate regional expansion. The airline is also in preliminary discussion about operating the Boeing 737 MAX but has no clear timelines for when it would start incorporating it into the fleet.

What are your thoughts on FlySafair’s Victoria Falls and Livingstone routes? Please let us know in the comments!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *