SAA in talks with British Airways over Comair franchise

Bob Adams via Wikimedia Commons

According to John Lamola, interim chairman and CEO of South African Airways, the company is currently in talks about the possibility of British Airways taking over the franchise of Comair, which operated domestic flights in South Africa until it ceased operations in May 2020.

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Comair, which had a long-standing agreement with BA to provide domestic and regional flights under its brand in South Africa, accounted for nearly 40% of South Africa’s domestic market, however, Comair was negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns.

It was also crippled by an attempt to cancel a contract to buy Boeing 737 Max planes, and rising fuel prices after Russia invaded Ukraine.

According to the Cirium platform, Comair accounted for 22% of the frequency supply in the national market at the time of the cessation of operations. Its fleet consisted of three Boeing 737-400s and nineteen Boeing 737-800s. It served five cities in the country.