Kulula.com

Last updated

Kulula.com
Kulula logo.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
MNCAWCOMAIR
Founded6 July 2001;22 years ago (2001-07-06)
Ceased operations9 June 2022 (2022-06-09)
Hubs OR Tambo International Airport
Fleet size10
Destinations6
Parent company Comair
Headquarters Bonaero Park, Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa
Key peopleWrenelle Stander
Website kulula.com

Kulula.com (stylized as kulula.com) and commonly referred to as Kulula was a South African low-cost airline, operating on major domestic routes from O. R. Tambo International Airport and Lanseria International Airport, both serving the city of Johannesburg. [1] The airline's headquarters were located at Bonaero Park, Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. [2] The name 'Kulula' comes from the Nguni languages of Zulu and Xhosa, meaning It's easy. [lower-alpha 1] Kulula suspended operations on 1 June 2022 pending securing of additional funding [3] [4] The company was placed into liquidation on 9 June 2022. [5]

Contents

History

A former kulula.com McDonnell Douglas MD-82, acquired in 2004. Kulula MD82 ZS-OBH (6864613661).jpg
A former kulula.com McDonnell Douglas MD-82, acquired in 2004.

Kulula.com was established in July 2001 and commenced operations as South Africa's first 'no-frills' carrier in August of that year. The stated aim was to position kulula.com as more than just an airline brand, but to include booking, paying and making 'the complete travel experience' affordable. [7]

In 2010, Kulula.com was forced by FIFA to stop a campaign describing itself as the "Unofficial National Carrier of the You-Know-What", [8] [9] which took place "Not next year, not last year, but somewhere in between", [10] obviously referring to the 2010 FIFA World Cup which took place in South Africa at that time. Another advert announced "affordable flights [to] everybody except Sepp Blatter" (the FIFA president), who was offered a free seat "for the duration of that thing that is happening right now". [11]

In July 2012 Kulula.com announced [12] that it was operating the first of seven brand new Boeing 737-800s, with three to be in operation before the end of that year, and the remaining four to be delivered in 2015 and 2016.

Kulula.com and parent company Comair suspended operations towards the end of March 2020 due to financial constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline resumed operations in September 2021. [13] On 1 June 2022, Kulula.com suspended all flights and entered business rescue [14] [4] [3] Kulula.com was accused of using a sale a day before to raise cash before stopping flights. [15] [16] Since suspension, only people who booked through Discovery Vitality were given the opportunity to obtain a refund. [17] On 9 June 2022 the business rescue practitioners announced that there was no reasonable prospect of rescue of either Kulula or Comair and that the companies be placed into liquidation. [5]

Corporate affairs

Ownership

Kulula.com was a wholly owned subsidiary of Comair Ltd, [7] which also operated flights as a franchisee of British Airways. Kulula.com, the British Airways franchise Southern Africa and Comair Ltd suspended operations in July 2020 due to financial issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial and operational results for Kulula.com are not separately disclosed, but are fully incorporated within the annual results for Comair (for years ending 30 June).[ citation needed ]

Destinations

As of March 2019, Kulula served the following destinations: [18]

ProvinceCityAirportNotes
Eastern Cape East London East London Airport
Eastern Cape Gqeberha Port Elizabeth International Airport
Gauteng Johannesburg O. R. Tambo International Airport Hub
Lanseria International Airport Hub
KwaZulu-Natal Durban King Shaka International Airport
Western Cape Cape Town Cape Town International Airport
Western Cape George George Airport

Codeshare agreements

Kulula held codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

kulula.com Boeing 737-400 Kulula.com Boeing 737-400 Lebeda.jpg
kulula.com Boeing 737-400
kulula.com Boeing 737-800 Boeing 737-8LD(w) 'ZS-ZWA' Kulula (15895561680).jpg
kulula.com Boeing 737-800

As of October 2018, the Kulula.com fleet consisted of the following aircraft: [20]

Kulula.com fleet
AircraftIn ServiceOrdersPassengers
(Economy)		Notes
Boeing 737-400 1—
162
Boeing 737-800 9—
186
189
Total10—

Historical fleet

Kulula previously operated the following aircraft:

Liveries

Kulula.com became known for its distinctive, brightly coloured, and often comedic aircraft liveries. [22] One of its former aircraft, known as Flying 101, was covered with a legend describing the different parts of the aircraft. [23]

Services

Loyalty programme

Kulula.com operated the Avios frequent-flyer programme, which was created from the merger of the Air Miles, BA Miles and Iberia Plus Points schemes on 16 November 2011. A restructure in 2015 meant that all of IAG's affiliated loyalty programmes which use Avios, including Avios Travel Reward Programme, Iberia Plus and British Airways Executive Club were transferred to Avios Group, an IAG subsidiary. [24] [25]

Inflight services

Kulula.com offered food and drinks as a buy-on-board programme. [26] The airline's in-flight magazine, khuluma, had a readership base of 200,000 per month.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ This "word" is made of the general verbal present particle ku- and the root lula: easy or light (both easy and not heavy).

Related Research Articles

British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.

Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and was originally planned by its co-founders Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. Soon after changing the name to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Fields sold his shares in the company after disagreements with Richard Branson over the management of the company. The maiden flight from London–Gatwick to Newark took place on 22 June 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Airways</span> Flag carrier of South Africa

South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier airline of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operates a hub-and-spoke network, serving ten destinations in Africa. The carrier joined Star Alliance in April 2006, making it the first African carrier to sign with one of the three major airline alliances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Brunei Airlines</span> Flag carrier of Brunei

Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd (RB) is the national flag carrier airline of Brunei Darussalam, headquartered in the RB Campus in Bandar Seri Begawan. It is wholly owned by the Government of Brunei Darussalam. Its hub is Brunei International Airport in Berakas, just to the north of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei Darussalam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SilkAir</span> Defunct Singaporean regional airline (1989—2021)

SilkAir Singapore Private Limited, operating as SilkAir, was a Singaporean airline with its head office in Changi, Singapore. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and in 2017, operated scheduled passenger services from Singapore to 54 cities in Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, and Northern Australia. As the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, it served the short to medium-haul destinations in the Singapore Airlines Group network.

Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C., operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, flying to over 150 international destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania from its base at Hamad International Airport, using a fleet of more than 200 aircraft. Qatar Airways Group employs more than 43,000 people. The carrier has been a member of the Oneworld alliance since October 2013.

Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport with focus city operations at Palma de Mallorca Airport and Tenerife North Airport. Air Europa flies to over 44 destinations in Spain, the rest of Europe, South America, North America, the Caribbean, Morocco and Tunisia. Since September 2007, Air Europa has been a member of the SkyTeam alliance.

Air Seychelles is the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles. Its head office is located at Seychelles International Airport on the island of Mahé and it operates inter-island and international flights and charter flights.

Meridiana Fly S.p.A., operating as Meridiana, was a privately owned Italian airline headquartered in Olbia with its main base at Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport. It operated scheduled and charter flights to domestic, European and intercontinental destinations from several Italian bases. Some of its operations were carried out by the old Air Italy under the Meridiana brand. It was owned by Qatar Airways through AQA Holding (49%) and Alisarda S.p.A. (51%), who rebranded the airline as the new Air Italy effective 1 March 2018.

JSC Uzbekistan Airways, operating as Uzbekistan Airways, is the flag carrier of Uzbekistan, headquartered in Tashkent. From its hub at Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport, the airline serves a number of domestic destinations; the company also flies international services to Asia, Europe and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vueling</span> Spanish low-cost airline

Vueling S.A. is a Spanish low-cost airline based at Viladecans in Greater Barcelona with hubs at Barcelona–El Prat Airport (main), Paris-Orly Airport in Paris, France, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy (secondary). It is the largest airline in Spain, measured by fleet size and number of destinations. As of 2021, Vueling serves 122 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and carried more than 34 million passengers in 2019. Since 2013, it has been an operating company of International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia.

Air Astana is an airline and the flag carrier of Kazakhstan. The airline group is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It operates scheduled international and domestic services across 64 routes from its two hubs; Almaty International Airport, and Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport.

Comair Limited was an airline based in South Africa that operated scheduled services on domestic routes as a British Airways franchisee. It also operated as a low-cost carrier under its own kulula.com brand. Its main base was OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, while focus cities were Cape Town, flying from Cape Town International Airport and Durban, King Shaka International Airport. Its headquarters were near OR Tambo in the Bonaero Park area of Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Nigeria</span> Former national airline of Nigeria

Air Nigeria was the national flag carrier of Nigeria, which operated scheduled regional and domestic passenger services. The airline's base was Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja, its head office was in Lagos Island, Lagos, and its registered office was in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian or AUA, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub. As of July 2016, the airline flew to six domestic and more than 120 international year-round and seasonal destinations in 55 countries and is a member of the Star Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mango (airline)</span> South African low-cost airline

Mango Airlines SOC Ltd, trading as Mango, was a South African low-cost airline based at the OR Tambo International Airport, and a subsidiary of South African Airways. Since July 2021, the airline had been grounded, as funding for its business rescue was subject to a dispute. However in August 2022 its license was suspended altogether.

OpenSkies SASU was a French airline owned by International Airlines Group (IAG) which operated under the Level brand prior to closing down, and before that operated under its own brand name. Its headquarters were located in Rungis, near Paris.

International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A., trading as International Airlines Group and usually shortened to IAG, is an Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company with its registered office in Madrid, Spain, and its corporate headquarters in London, England. It was formed in January 2011 after a merger agreement between British Airways and Iberia, the flag carriers of the United Kingdom and Spain respectively, when British Airways and Iberia became wholly owned subsidiaries of IAG. British Airways shareholders were given 55% of the shares in the new company.

British Airways operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. It operates a single-aisle fleet of Airbus aircraft, including the Airbus A320-200 and the Airbus A320neo. It also operates a twin-aisle aircraft fleet of the Airbus A350-1000, Airbus A380, Boeing 777 and 787 wide-body aircraft, with most of it powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines.

Fly Level SL, styled as LEVEL, is an airline brand under which airlines owned by the International Airlines Group (IAG) operate low-cost flights. The brand has a registered office in Madrid, Spain.

References

  1. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International . 3 April 2007. p. 103.
  2. ↑ "Contact Us". kulula.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2011..
  3. 1 2 Staff Writer. "Goodbye Kulula flights" . Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Travel updates". kulula.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 Staff Writer. "Comair goes under – with no prospect of rescue" . Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "1Time Airline ZS-OBK (McDonnell Douglas MD-80/90 – MSN 49115) (Ex F-GPZE OE-LDY ) | Airfleets aviation". airfleets.net. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  7. 1 2 "The Comair Story – Launching kulula.com". Comair Limited. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Fifa[sic] orders South African airline to drop 'ambush' ad". BBC. 19 March 2010..
  9. ↑ "Picture", Flickr, Yahoo!.
  10. ↑ The advert – via Facebook.
  11. ↑ The advert – via Facebook.
  12. ↑ "kulula celebrates first of its brand new fleet". kulula.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "Latest Coronavirus (COVID-19) Travel Info & Updates – kulula.com". kulula.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  14. ↑ White, Ray. "Still no clarity on whether Comair will resume operations soon". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  15. ↑ Labuschagne, Hanno. "Kulula owner accused of using sale to raise cash one day before stopping flights" . Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  16. ↑ Smith, Carin. "Comair crisis: Let us speak to rescue practitioners, unions demand after fruitless talks with CEO". Fin24. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  17. ↑ "Discovery Vitality will refund clients booked on suspended Kulula and BA flights". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  18. 1 2 3 "Routes – kulula.com". kulula.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  19. ↑ "KLM / Kulula begins codeshare partnership from late-May 2018". Routesonline.
  20. 1 2 3 "Kulula.com Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018..
  21. ↑ "Kulula's fleet history". Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  22. ↑ Wien, Kent (30 January 2010). "Kulula-air tries not to take itself too seriously". Gadling. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  23. ↑ Fawkes, Piers (3 February 2010). "Kulula Airplane Rebranding". PSFK. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  24. ↑ "About Avios". Avios. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  25. ↑ "Helping Avios analyse huge data sets to boost transparency and growth". PwC. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  26. ↑ "Flight info Archived 27 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine ." kulula.com. Accessed 6 May 2009.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Kulula.com at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.