February 23rd, 2012
It was only a week ago that Velvet Sky, South Africa's newest budget airline, announced its lofty ideal of launching VIP chartered flights. According to a report by Tourism Update the company had recently purchased two DC9 aircraft from Tokyo Sexwale's family for R4.6-million, and were excited to break into the fast developing African luxury market.
Now, only a few days later, the company is facing massive repercussions, as a dispute with SAA Technical Services has led to large scale flight cancellations. According to a SAPA report, Velvet Sky spokesperson, Gary Webb said that they were in the process of changing service providers, but that they were trying to keep operation disruptions minimal.
Stranded passengers were mostly offered reimbursements on merit in the form of flights to their destinations on other airlines. Some would receive their money back.
Despite comforting words from Velvet Sky, the situation seems all too familiar and somewhat dire, especially in the light of Air Australia, a budget airline from down-under, having gone bust overnight with no prior warning. Could this be the terrible fate of Velvet Sky? Or is there hope at the end of the tunnel like there was for Qantas after their widely covered labour dispute last year?
Check out our Velvet Sky timeline below, and judge for yourself:
18 March 2011 - The Beginning: SA set for new local airline (Velvet Sky)
7 August 2011 - Velvet Sky expands fleet
2 September 2011 - Velvet Sky provides the first ever plane trips to Rocking the Daisies
9 September 2011 - Velvet Sky launches new route
3 October 2011 - Velvet Sky launches PE hub
19 October 2011 - Take Off for Velvet Sky's new routes
14 February 2012 - Velvet Sky goes VIP
23 February 2012 - Dispute with SAA Technical Services and cancellations
User Comments
FEefMilBLfoYSubmitted by Mishi on Wed, 08/01/2012 - 04:16. |
come on！这怎么是西部轮回呢？是东部啊！btw你要去纽约！记住：1.empire building--sunset!!!! hav to go there!!! sit there until the moon take the place of the sun!!! espceially find 5th St. take a seat which is facing 5th St.!!! I promise you it will be AWESOME!!!2.food in soho.3.dunt walk at night alone there!its dangerous.4.大都会博物馆！必须要去！5.upper east side!!!6.哥伦比亚大学！！一定要帮我拍相片啊！！7.记得帮我拍、times Sq的夜景！！之前我去没拍好，气死我了！！！8.一定要去Wall St的Triump Center(特普朗大厦)，里面都是金碧辉煌，很漂亮的！9.还有呢，central park里面很大，我担心你会迷路，反正我是没去。我在大都会博物馆度过了大半天。大都会博物馆天台的展览品，每年都换的。记得要去看！I miss you!!!!!good luck!!!!nice trip!!!!I love American!!! |
SadSubmitted by Anonymous on Sun, 02/26/2012 - 21:36. |
i hope the problem gets resolved ,i paid R3600 for flights in April. i saved some time to take my family on a holiday, if velvet sky does not fly , i will have to cancell my holiday, this will surely brake my kids hearts. |
Return Flights booked and paid for to DurbanSubmitted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 15:52. |
What happens now 1. We have booked and paid for return flights to Durban leaving 1st March returning 4th March. 2. Do we turn up to the airport on the 1st? 3. Do we in the meantime book through another airline? 4. Will we get our money back? |
Oldest FleetSubmitted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 09:29. |
To correct some misconceptions with facts, Velvet Sky has the oldest fleet of all the mainline operators. Velvet Sky average fleet age is 23,8 years, 1Time is 23,4 years, British Airways (comair) is 23 years, Kulula is 17,7 years, Mango is 10,8 years, and SAA is 9 years. Having said that, fleet age is inconsequential when it comes to determining safety of an airline. Maintenance is everything. A brand new plane with poor maintenance is a lot less safe than a well maintained 40 year old plane. With regards to comfort, again, some facts. Seat pitch, the distance between the seats and used to determine legroom, is as follows, from poor to best legroom : Velvet Sky (29in to 30in), Kulula (30in on 737-800, 29in to 30in on 737-300/400), Mango (30in), SAA (31in), BA (31in), 1time (31in to 32in). |
Velvet Sky refunds to passengers?Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 09:18. |
Yet another low cost airline going under.... and so passengers will have lost their money. I personally will lose R1 599.00 - and not smell a refund by the smell of an oil rag! What is absolutely shocking is that their website is still open for unsuspecting people to book flights????? Hallooooo fraud????? |
Cash FlowSubmitted by Robert Timmons on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 09:13. |
The most worrying thing about an airline showing cash flow problems is that they're clearly using future sales (i.e. tickets you and I book in the future) to cover the cost of operating their aircraft TODAY. If they liquidate, there are going to be a lot of unhappy customers who have paid for tickets they won't be able to use. Surely this practice should be illegal? |
Anonymous on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 08:19.Submitted by Richard on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 08:44. |
Their planes are not younger, the only operator the flies older planes than Velvet Sky's 737-300's is 1time who fly MD-83's which are ancient. Kulula and Mango have ultra modern fleets of 737-800's, much more comfortable to fly in and safer! |
Velvet SkySubmitted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 08:19. |
It is sad to see Velvet Sky struggling. Having commuted between CT and JHB for over 13 years I have tried and tested all the airlines. The fancy ones and the cheap ones. I have loved them and loathed them and oh so familiar with the made up delay excuses versus the real ones. I have been flying Velvet Sky since October and I must admit they were a breath of fresh air. Flying on time with approachable staff (or contracted staff). As with most airlines apart from when it is a technical issue with the plane or cabin staff going walkabout most delays are usually ACSA or weather related however, since January something has been amiss with Velvet Sky. Cash flow appears to be the cause. Velvet Sky now parks at the far end of the charter bays at Oliver Thambo that is where you get sent when you have been naughty or in the case of Velvet Sky not paying your bills. They lease their planes and they have had problems with one or two of the companies they lease from again due to cash flow issues. The latest string of issues is unsurprising but is more than likely linked to a combination of management incompetence and cash flow. I had to chuckle at the launch of VIP.....where will they land if their is no cash to pay the bills? I want Velvet Sky to make it as they are a fresh alternative oh....and their planes are younger than some of the other cheap airlines and well maintained (they are leased from established charter firms). |
