Skywise (airline)

History

Skywise was founded by Tabassum Qadir and J. Malik in March 2013. In 2014[clarification needed] Skywise received its air service license 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 would be improved shortly as the plans to revitalize the airline were underway. An additional Boeing 737 would be acquired to serve the increased number of flights. The airline was also eyeing regional routes into 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. 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 misfortune against Acsa and Air Transportation and Navigation Services, Skywise received a lot of negative publicity. The media reported that Skywise was "grounded" whilst Skywise affirmed that only two of their eight flights were affected for the day. This 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it would be shut down because of unpaid airport charges and by 10 November 2015 all of Skywise's aircraft had been withdrawn, effectively halting further operations. As of January 2016, no flights have been resumed, with the airline's official website being taken offline.

Ownership

80% of the airline is owned by South Africans which includes the Mandela Family and the Co-CEO Irfan Pardesi, while 20% is owned by Pak Africa CEO Tabassum Qadir. The company is co-chaired by Faizel Motlekar and J. Malik. Johan Borstlap, is 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 is in Sandton City, Johannesburg.

Partnerships

BidAir Cargo – Skywise has a partnership with BidAir Cargo, a wholly owned subsidiary of BidVest Group, an international investment company that is listed on four stock exchanges internationally – the JSE Securities in South Africa and its counterparts in Australia, London and Luxembourg. Within this group it is a part of BidAir Services, a division of BidVest that handles cargo in Africa.

Menzies Aviation – a global provider of passenger, ramp and cargo handling services has grown rapidly since 1995. John Menzies PLC is a Scottish business established in 1833. It has two main divisions: Menzies Distribution and Menzies Aviation and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Computicket/Shoprite – the potential of Computicket, South Africa’s leading ticketing company with offerings covering the whole spectrum of leisure activities, came to full fruition when acquired by the group. It gave Computicket a presence in every Checkers and Shoprite supermarket and hyperstore making it accessible to a much broader consumer base. In addition to its traditional ticketing services the company in 2009 moved successfully into the travel market, selling packages mainly online and through its call centre.

Destinations

Skywise Airlines serviced South Africa’s most popular domestic route between Johannesburg and Cape Town, flying six times daily.

Fleet

As of January 2016, the Skywise fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Sponsorship