Johannesburg - FlySafair has warned passengers that it will increase prices by at least R100 per flight before the end of the year due to rising fuel prices.
FlySafair has become a dominant player in passenger air travel after the grounding of Mango, Kulula and British Airways this year.
Other local players in the local air travel industry include SAA, CemAir, Airlink and Lift.
FlySafair said it currently had more than 50% of the domestic seat capacity.
Speaking to eNCA on Monday afternoon, Kirby Gordon, the chief marketing officer for FlySafair, said travellers could see an increase of up to R100 for the lowest-priced R600 flight tickets between Cape Town and Johannesburg.
He said the increases were expected to come into effect by the end of the year and he said consumers could offset the increase by always purchasing their tickets early if they were in a position to do so.
He said when the new increased pricing comes into effect, passengers who buy the cheapest flight tickets would likely pay about R100 more.
He explained: “What’s likely to happen is that we will not see a return to the sort of levels we were once used to, because of the levels where the fuel price is, the bottom prices are going to be higher than they were before.”
Gordon explained that jet fuel costs pre-Covid-19 accounted for about 30 to 40% of the costs on a typical flight between Cape Town and Johannesburg, but jet fuel costs were now sitting at about 55 to 60%.
“It has become a far more significant part of the cost structure than it was before because of the increases,” he said.
Gordon said said operators in Europe were charging a fuel surcharge which was being billed directly to passengers, but he said they were less likely to adopt the same model.
“Our aim at this stage is to manage those bottom prices so that we don’t find ourselves in a situation where it is no longer sustainable to keep doing business.
“For now we are going to hold on for as long as possible (on increasing prices).
“We haven’t actually changed any of our prices at this stage, we have kept the prices where they are.
“There were the days when you could fly from Joburg to Cape Town for about R622. I think what we are going to see is that those prices will go up by about R100 and we will have to see what the reality is in terms of that because at this stage flights are full because there’s so few available in the market,” said Gordon.
“There will come a time very soon, probably before the end of the year, where the capacity in the market will be corrected and airlines will be able to start selling cheaper tickets, but with the cost of fuel, cheaper tickets won’t be the cheap we once knew,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gordon said FlySafair was set to increase its fleet with the addition of three new aircraft before the end of the year and they were actively recruiting new staff, pilots and cabin crew.
He said the new aircraft would be added to the domestic market.
IOL