Skywise unlikely to cater for cargo

While passengers can look forward to enjoying another low-cost airline in the SA skies again when Skywise starts its operations later this year, it doesn’t look as though the airline will be offering much to the air cargo industry. According to Alwyn Rautenbach, MD of Airlink Cargo and chairman of the Air Cargo Operators’ Committee (Acoc), the philosophy amongst lowcost carriers tends to be to shy away from the airfreight scene. It can add the likes of administrative staff costs and pretty pricey contracts with ground handlers to the budget, and loading/ offloading can take time. “The cargo handling can extend turn-around times,” he told FTW – and that’s anathema to low-cost carriers, where the matter of keeping costs low and maintaining flight frequency is a vital part of remaining profitable. Skywise plans are to lease two Boeing 737-300s, and launch a service between OR Tambo International Airport (Ortia) in Johannesburg and Cape Town in the second half of the year. Reports are that it intends to start with three daily flights on this route, then add two more aircraft later to service the Durban and the Port Elizabeth-East London routes.