Business

Domestic air travel 'to resume growth'

18 November 2009

South Africa low-cost airline Mango expects domestic air travel to resume positive growth by the third quarter of 2010 as the aviation industry sees hints of a recovery, the company said on Tuesday.

At the same time, the company will remain cautious and adopt a prudent approach to the current environment, in which sales are recovering from the drops of 2007 and 2008.

Chief executive officer Nico Bezuidenhout said in a statement that global forecasts remained bleak, but that the increased international trend of investing in emerging markets might hold positive spin-offs for South Africa and its aviation industry.

"The increasing importance of emerging markets on the global stage is highlighted with the economic successes of Brazil, Russia, India and China," Bezuidenhout said. "Emerging markets have unleashed a massive growth surge in the world economy."

Regional and domestic aviation stood to benefit substantially from this, he said. Consumers were looking for value, and this conservative approach would remain for many years.

He expected low-cost airlines to increase market share to well over 60 to 70 percent in the next decade.

Presently, Mango is preparing for next year's football World Cup and seeking new growth opportunities beyond 2010.

Sapa