Airlines look into future capacity needs

The Airlines Association of SA (AASA) is currently sitting down with airport operators, the Airports Company of SA (Acsa), to work out the future regulatory review process, planning ahead for the next five to ten years, according to AASA CEO, Chris Zweigenthal. The airlines are starting this period at a particularly low ebb globally, he told FTW, with slack demand, low incomes and rampant costs. The same is true of the aviation industry in SA. “It’s very flat in SA at the moment, and yields are down both for passenger and cargo transport,” Zweigenthal said. But mapping out the future remains an important strategy, both for the airlines and the airport operator. “We are looking at capacity provision and schedule development going forward,” he said. “Currently, there is no major infrastructure planned, therefore we are concentrating on the future processes over the next decade.” This is the start of a lengthy series of consultations between the two bodies, Zweigenthal added. CAPTION: Mapping the future for airlines and the airport operator.