FlySafair submits new licence bid

After a high court interdict shot plans for new budget carrier, FlySafair, out of the skies in October, the owners of the airline are busily trying to get their shareholding house into order for a new licence and a second take-off for the carrier, according to CEO Dave Andrew. The argument against FlySafair was raised by airline Comair. In this, the ownership of FlySafair – and, in turn, of parent Safair – was disputed. Comair’s point was that the airline ownership exceeded the permissible 25% stockholding allowed to be held by a foreign owner, and it should therefore not have been granted a licence by the SA Air Service Licensing Council. (See: “Ownership squabble….” FTW September 6) Comair CEO Erik Venter said the company had first raised its objections to the licensing council in July when Safair applied for a scheduled passenger service licence under the name FlySafair. But the council rejected Comair’s complaint and granted the licence for FlySafair to operate up to ten daily flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town – using two Boeing 737-400 aircraft. Round two was held in the North Gauteng High Court in October where Comair and Skywise Airline launched a joint application for an interim interdict preventing FlySafair from starting its scheduled air service. After lengthy counter arguments, the court eventually found in favour of Comair/Skywise Airline and FlySafair, in its then ownership format, was temporarily banned from SA airspace. But, since then, the aspirant airline has been working on ownership restructuring plans which it hopes will finally give it operational rights in SA. “Over the past month,” Andrew told FTW, “we have expedited our broadbased black economic empowerment (BBBEE) transaction, as previously advised to the Council. As a result, we have restructured our shareholding which also addresses some of the concerns raised in the court interdict. “Subsequently we have reapplied for a new S1 licence. “As soon as the new licence is granted we will again be able to launch FlySafair.”