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| Founded | 2013 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 11 February 2015 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 10 November 2015 | ||||||
| Hubs | OR Tambo International Airport | ||||||
| Headquarters | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||||||
| Key people |
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| Website | http://skywise.co.za/ | ||||||
Skywise was a South African domestic low-cost airline headquartered in Johannesburg and based at OR Tambo International Airport. It solely operated flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town, but suspended operations in November 2015.
Skywise was founded by Tabassum Qadir and J. Malik in March 2013. Skywise received its air service license in 2014, and the official launch flight took place on 11 February 2015. On 5 March 2015, the first daily scheduled flights commenced.
On 20 October 2015, Skywise announced the reduction of frequency between Johannesburg and Cape Town from eight to six return flights per day. The frequency was to be improved shortly as the plans to revitalise the airline were underway. An additional Boeing 737 was to be acquired to serve the increased number of flights. The airline was also eyeing regional routes into other countries in Africa.
Skywise was barred from taking off from Cape Town or Johannesburg for several hours on 11, 12 and 13 October 2015 because of debts owed to Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and Air Traffic & Navigation Services (ATNS). From a total of 24 flights, only 6 flights were affected during the three days. By 15 October, all flights between Cape Town and Johannesburg – the route that the airline serviced four times a day – were taking off on time. Following the Skywise dispute with ACSA and ATNS, Skywise received a lot of negative publicity. [1] The media reported that Skywise was "grounded" [2] whilst Skywise affirmed that only two of their eight flights were affected for the day; the 'grounding' formed the major part of media coverage as it was maintained that they were not flying.
However, the airline later confirmed it had received a notice from Acsa warning it would be shut down because of unpaid airport charges [3] and by 10 November 2015 all of Skywise's aircraft had been withdrawn, effectively halting further operations. [4] Flights never resumed, and the airline's official website was shut down.
80% of the airline was owned by South Africans, including the Mandela Family and the Co-CEO Irfan Pardesi, while 20% is owned by Pak Africa CEO Tabassum Qadir. The company was co-chaired by Faizel Motlekar and J. Malik. Johan Borstlap, was the other Co-CEO and Muhammed Saleem Kachi Kumhar, Deputy Chairperson. Some of the board members had interests in another failed low-cost airline, which liquidated in November 2012. Skywise operated in two cities; Johannesburg and Cape Town and the head office was in Sandton City, Johannesburg.
Skywise had partnerships with:
Skywise Airlines serviced South Africa's most popular domestic route between Johannesburg and Cape Town, flying six times daily.
South AfricaAt closure, the Skywise fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[ citation needed ]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes/sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 1 | — | 142 | |
| Boeing 737-500 | 1 | — | 126 | |
| Total | 2 | — | ||
O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport serving the twin cities of Johannesburg and the main capital of South Africa, Pretoria. It is situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel for South Africa and since 2020, it is Africa's second busiest airport, with a capacity to handle up to 28 million passengers annually. The airport serves as the hub for South African Airways. The airport handled over 21 million passengers in 2017.
Cape Town International Airport is the primary international airport serving the city of Cape Town, and is the second-busiest airport in South Africa and fourth-busiest in Africa.
Kimberley Airport based in the Northern Cape is an airport that serves Kimberley, the capital city of the province and its surrounding areas. It was established in 1912. The airport is approximately 6.5 kilometers away from the centre of Kimberley. Annually, the Airport transports approximately 170,000 passengers across around 10,000 flights through airlines Airlink and ChemAir and provides regular domestic flights in South Africa between Cape Town International Airport and O.R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
Safair is an airline based at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa. It operates one of the world's largest fleets of civil Lockheed L-100 Hercules cargo aircraft.
Nationwide Airlines was an airline based in Lanseria, South Africa. It operated scheduled domestic and international services. Its main base was OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg. On 29 April 2008, the airline ended operations.
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 O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, while focus cities were Cape Town International Airport in Cape Town, and King Shaka International Airport in Durban. Its headquarters were near OR Tambo in the Bonaero Park area of Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng.
1time Airline (Pty) Ltd commonly called 1time was a South African low-cost airline that operated between 2004 and 2012. Based in the Isando Industrial Park in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, 1time operated scheduled domestic and regional services. Its main base was OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg. The name of the company, "one time!", is a South African expression meaning "for real!".
Hosea Kutako International Airport is the main international airport of Namibia, serving the capital city Windhoek. Located 45 km (28 mi) to the east of the city, it is Namibia's largest airport with international connections. From its founding in 1965 to the independence of Namibia in 1990, it was named J.G. Strijdom Airport. In 1990 the airport was renamed, in honor of Namibian national hero Hosea Kutako.
Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport is located 27 kilometres (17 mi) north east of Mbombela in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Construction began in 2001, and it replaced the smaller Nelspruit Airport. It now serves travelers to Kruger National Park.
Airlink is a regional airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its main business is to provide services between smaller, under-served towns and larger hub airports. It has since expanded to offer flights on larger, mainline routes. The airline has a network of more than 60 routes to over 45 destinations in Southern Africa. In January 2021, it became the second-largest carrier within Africa by number of flights, and third-largest by number of seats.
Airports Company of South Africa Limited (ACSA) is a majority (94.6%) state-owned South African airport management company. Founded in 1993, ACSA operates nine of South Africa's airports. The company is headquartered at Aviation Park, Western Precinct Building, situated at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa.
Mango Airlines SOC Ltd, trading as Mango, was a South African low-cost airline based at O. R. 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.
Pelican Air Services was a trading name of Federal Air, an airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It now trades under the name Federal Air, and no longer uses the Pelican Air branding.
Federal Air is an airline headquartered at O. R. Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg, South Africa.
Interlink Airlines Pty Ltd. was an airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa, operating scheduled and chartered flights out of OR Tambo International Airport. Its IATA code has since been reassigned to Batik Air.
CemAir (Pty) South Africa, servicing popular tourist destinations and important business towns, as well as leasing aircraft to other airlines across Africa. The airline's head office and engineering and maintenance facility are located in Hangar 6 OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
Velvet Sky was a low cost airline based at the King Shaka International Airport near Durban, South Africa. The airline launched in March 2011. It ceased operations in February 2012 and was liquidated in May 2012.
Fastjet Limited is an African airline that began flight operations in 2012. It is headquartered in Johannesburg and serves regional flights between South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
FlySafair is an international low-cost airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a subsidiary of Safair and flies to 14 destinations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company slogan is For The Love Of Flying.
Airlink Cargo is a division of SA Airlink (Pty) Ltd and provides air freight transport services to over 35 destinations across Southern Africa from its base at O. R. Tambo International Airport. The division was formed in 2011 after one British Aerospace Jetstream 41 passenger aircraft belonging to parent company Airlink was converted for freight operations, followed the next year by a second aircraft. Freight is also carried on Airlink Cargo's behalf by Airlink and Swaziland Airlink across the region. Airlink Cargo is headquartered on the grounds of their hub near Johannesburg, South Africa.
Media related to Skywise at Wikimedia Commons
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