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South Africa’s private airline, Airlink, terminates its 23-year franchise agreement with South African Airways. The airline entered into a strategic alliance with South African Airways in 1997. Today, the airline revealed its striking new livery to match its rebrand.
A new look
Airlink revealed its new look today, as it also announced that it will remove South African Airways from its name and focus on its own operations. Airlink previously partnered with South African Airways shortly after its founding. The airline will now operate its fleet of 46 aircraft on regional routes through South Africa under its own 4Z flight code.
In a statement, the airline’s CEO and CEO Rodger Foster said:
“We’ve flown that particular nest, and we invite our new and loyal customers to fly with us as Airlink expands its network, connecting and reconnecting people, communities, businesses, goods and services with markets throughout Southern Africa and beyond. .. “
According to planespotter, the regional airline operates a fleet of Embraer planes on routes connecting Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London. In addition to its network connecting 15 of South Africa’s most popular tourist destinations, Airlink is looking to resume operations in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Madagascar and Eswatini. The resumption of routes will depend on ever-changing travel restrictions.
A new look
To go with the new name and the start of a new era, of course, Airlink has a completely new livery. The beautiful design features an African Sunbird in contrast to the colors of a sunrise. The design is a far cry from the colors of its previous partner, South African Airways.
Although the design has already been revealed, the airline will paint each of its aircraft in turn over the next several months so as not to interrupt its flight schedule. The downtime for each refinish will also be used to perform deep maintenance checks on each aircraft. The first aircraft with the new look will take off in a few weeks in time for the busy summer / Christmas holiday season.
Why did Airlink part ways with South African Airways?
Airlink was founded in 1992 as a regional airline. In 1997 it joined South African Airways (SAA) and South Africa Airways Express as a franchise in an agreement, which meant that SAA passengers could travel on Airlink flights. The deal was quite successful and Airlink and SAA both benefited.
However, the association broke down earlier this year. Airlink discovered that SAA used the proceeds from the tickets that SAA sold on Airlink flights as working capital rather than returning it to Airlink. In protest, Airlink suspended operations, wreaking havoc on travel, and petitioned a court to get the money back. The legal battle continues and is further complicated by SAA’s precarious financial situation.
As a result, Airlink has decided to go her own way. With a slight name change and a completely new livery, the airline will soar through the skies as a fully independent airline. The airline claims that “Independence and freedom are Airlink’s central proposals.” Clearly, the future of Airlink is defined as truly separate from SAA.
We think the new Airlink decor is awesome, but what do you think? Excited to see South African Airways Independent Airline? Let us know in the comments.
