The Bryan Air crew has committed to 3 more episodes in this the second season of the Podcast. We will host the 30th and last episode of the season on 11th of December 2020. We have managed to complete a podcast every week for the past 6 and a bit months, something we are incredibly proud of amidst the turmoil of the pandemic. We will of course be back for Season 3 in January 2021 with further improvements and ideas.
This weeks news: New South African LCC Lift announces a public poll to choose the livery that will grace their A320’s. This after a successful competition to name the new carrier which resulted in a huge number of suggestions from the public. Lift will begin operating on the 10th of December 2020, the cabin crew and ground staff are going to be kitted out with uniforms courtesy of Superbalist. Morning travellers will be treated to a Vida coffee hopefully without the singing barista. Passengers on afternoon flights can expect wine tasting from some of South Africa’s top wine farms. Note to self: choose an afternoon flight.
FlySafair has entered into an interline agreement with Emirates, further expanding the reach of South Africa's premier domestic carrier. These agreements are critical for South Africans who want to remain connected to the rest of the world. Consider visiting family and friends in Australia may soon be accomplished straight from the FlySafair or Airlink website with a via Dubai option. The need for the additional long haul sector comes after Qantas suspends South African flights until October 2021. Etihad will follow the Qantas lead and suspend operations in South Africa until further notice.
Innovation is the name of the game in the aviation sector right now, offering a reasonable product without strong branding or value-add-ons is commercial suicide. Passengers want to fly with a company they identify with, a company with morals, tech, new ideas and of course the cheapest prices. Lift has taken the lead with innovation so far, Gidon Novick has been prominent in the media promoting the ‘flexible’ tickets and engaging with the public on names and branding. Lift’s new website is clean with a very simple booking sequence, the yellow webpage is the best I have seen so far from a South African operator. I am a sucker for yellow and blue, it reminds me of the Williams Renault Formula One cars of the 90's. FlySafair has traditionally been the leaders in the local marketing sphere with their ‘almost free’ annual ticket sales taking down internet servers across the world with its mad rush of popularity. It will be interesting to see whether Comair remains the conservative airline in terms of their branding and marketing strategy or whether they have identified the need to be a bit more social media savvy in this regard. Airlink are free from the shackles of the South African flag, the new branding is even more striking in real life particularly painted on the ideally sized E190’s.
Sticking with innovation, Air New Zealand leak details about a possible “Business Class Plus” or “First Class Lite” depending hoe you wish to view it. BA chose to not offer First class at all on their new A350’s. For long haul operations direct aisle access will be a must. Expect to see new cabins with private pod like divisions and improved privacy overall, only in the higher class cabins of course. Economy cabins may see a downgrade in terms of comfort, don’t expect a ‘free’ meal anymore. On the shorter haul LCC flights, Ryanair have decided on a reduced seat pitch on the new Max 200’s, Vietjet has followed their lead. The MAX-200 is a higher seat capacity variant of aircraft usually specked with 175 seats. Lufthansa has already dropped its premium service short haul flights now offering the same service as Ryanair, Wizz and Easy Jet. Expect to see more airlines cram as many Covid tested passengers they can in the no frills cabins with food and beverage services a pre covid luxury.
Aviation share prices experienced another surge with the announcement of the Moderna vaccine. Boeing shares rose by 4.1%, GE, IAG and Easy Jet all up by decent margins. Expect more airline take-overs in the coming months, Korean announced a hefty 1.6B USD for the purchase of Asiana, the combined airline will become one of the top 10 airlines in the world by size.
Staying with financial news, Emirates announce a half year loss for the first time in 30 years. This is quite a remarkable feat in itself. Amazingly there are 2 brand new A380’s planned for delivery next month. The disappearance of the ’super jumbos’ from rival airlines is going to make them even more important according to the outgoing Emirates CEO Tim Clark, who continues to praise the A380 and highlight its importance in terms of branding and the business model. If I recall it was Sir Tim Clark himself who was quoted as saying the “A380 is over, the 747 is over”. A shift of insight perhaps. Interestingly Emirates will be operating a somewhat outdated fleet in terms of technology if you consider rival medium to long haul airlines operating A350’s and 787’s exclusively.
Cathay Pacific has cut key routes to the US and Europe to stay afloat. The route cutting a ruthless step to curb the losses experienced by the Asian operator. Cathay suffering a double blow as tourism was already severely affected prior to the global pandemic with widespread riots across HK. 21 Boeing 777X deliveries have subsequently been delayed until 2025 and beyond.
The FAA finally reinstate the 737 MAX operating certificate after it was pulled way back March 2019. This approval allows airlines to operate the aircraft once they have actioned the airworthiness directive and completed the much publicised crew training requirements. The green light is only applicable to American operators with N registered aircraft, expect to see EASA follow the FAA’s lead shortly. I hope Comair have made all necessary applications to the SACAA to allow MAX operations. If South African pilot license renewal delays is anything to go-by it may still be a long time before we see Comair’s MAX in the sky. I mention this tongue in cheek.
Our main sponsor Simaero has welcomed crew from Mozambique Express at the Johannesburg facility. MEX continue recurrent training on the ERJ. Their new management team is optimistic about the future and hoping to take advantage of the shifting industry. Egyptian operator Petroleum Air Services also visits the facility for the first time. It has been very evident that the African operators are ready to get going, the demand for crew training is up particularly for the regional smaller gauge operators. It’s not all doom and gloom here in Africa, airlines are quietly optimistic and ready to take advantage of the African skies without the usual competition from abroad. The pandemic could be the catalyst for the African aviation industry. There is no room for corruption with so many prying eyes peering at the balance sheets. Better more conservative decisions, streamlined networks, stronger agreements and the freedom to innovate in a truly African way.
I am a devout supporter of the African aviation sector and I’m excited about the future on the continent. Aviation is quietly getting on with business and ticking all the right boxes. Relationships are being formed with legacy carriers across the globe, new routes and areas of potential are starting to emerge. Watch this sector closely, there’s room for growth everywhere.
A nugget of wisdom from Seth Godin on the Tim Ferris Show about creativity. “It’s all about the process and not about the outcome, learning to swim requires drowning for at least an hour an a half which is why most people don’t get to the other side.” If you want to learn how to juggle you have to drop an enormous number of balls, if you want to learn to swim you have to sort of drown. If you want to learn to be creative you have to show me an enormous number of bad ideas. Pick the smallest region, domain, any segment you want, keep listing your bad ideas, prove your bad ideas are not fatal. Part 2 domain knowledge and genre, it is true that once in a while an outsider shows up with something that nobody on the inside ever thought of but that’s not usually what happens, what usually happens is that someone with good taste decides to be willing to be creative and good taste means you know what your audience wants 10 minutes before they do. You can’t have good taste unless you have domain knowledge and understand genre.” (Genre means what am I expecting when I encounter your work.)
The full episode is available on various platforms. Audio versions can be accessed through all major podcast applications, the video version is available on YouTube. Craig Wood from AVIATION4SA joined us on the show this week to discuss some exciting new ideas about developing aviation in South Africa. Craig offers valuable insight and plenty words of wisdom for anyone in need of some motivation in this difficult period.