Daily Insider: Airline prices normalised, so book early – and fly on Tues, Sat.
LATEST ON BIZNEWS RADIO (on iTunes): Cemair's seven year wait for SA airline 'normalisation' pays off – airline has quadrupled since pre-Covid (Click here for Spotify)
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Enjoyed some really good insights during my interview yesterday with Cemair founder and CEO Miles vd Molen. The way he sees it, the (higher) prices we're now paying to travel in SA's JNB/CT/DBN 'golden triangle' are finally reflecting reality. So, after staying away from those routes for years, his rapidly expanding airline has reopened those routes.
Cemair's boss explained that until recently, fares were distorted through massive subsidisation first by taxpayers (SAA) and then creditors (Kulula.com and BA). The strategy was based on a belief that by holding prices below cost, competitors would be driven out of business. Bully-boy tactics rarely work out well. Nor did they here.
Another result of the industry's 'normalisation' is a return to old fashioned economics. Now that excess capacity has been removed, the best prices are secured by booking in advance. Like any business, airlines love filling order books early. Also, it's best to travel on Tuesdays and Saturdays, which are traditionally less popular. And thus tickets cost less.
In this discussion at the 6th Annual Nation Brand Forum we draw from the leaders of four multi-nationals with operations in South Africa namely H&M, General Electric, Google and Siemens. Key to the discussion is understanding what a revitalised economy could mean for their own growth ambitions."
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