Airport charges will force ticket prices up

According to Erik Venter, one of Comair's two joint chief executives, the airline is looking to expand its route network in Africa. He says that Comair has started a partnership with Solenta Aviation to operate the smaller 66-seater aircraft on routes that cannot accommodate the larger Boeing 737s that make up the bulk of Comair's fleet.

Comair is operating under the British Airways livery on the routes to Maputo in Mozambique and to Gaborone in Botswana in partnership with Solenta. It offers daily return flights to both destinations.

Meanwhile, Velvet Sky, a new entrant into budget flights between Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg says that it will start flying to other destinations, including Polokwane from October.

It says that the Polokwane Airport has a new passenger terminal that was upgraded for the World Cup and also has an international licence. It will fly there eight times a week using a Boeing 737 or DC-9 in an all economy configuration according to Stephen Nthite, chairman of the group.