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CEMAIR BOUNCING BACK STRONGLY
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As the airline industry slowly returns to a ‘new normal’, Johannesburg based carrier CemAir is thriving. The airline is pushing ahead, into the gaps in the market left by the departure of competitors such as SA Express and Mango, and the slow restart of SAA.
CemAir CFO Dr Laura van der Molen says that the airline is focussed on optimising the use of smaller gauge aircraft. One of CemAir’s strengths is that it provides essential air connectivity to the smaller towns on the coastal routes, particularly from Johannesburg to destinations such as Margate, Plettenberg Bay and George.She notes that there has been a steady move of people away from the cities to the coastal towns and that this helped underpin the CemAir route network.
As primarily a regional operator, the CemAir fleet currently consists of: A pure jet fleet of eight CRJ 100/200 LRs, plus two -900s, with another on the way. The turboprop fleet consists of three Dash-8 Q400s with another scheduled to arrive in May, two Dash-8 Q300s, a Q100 plus seven Beech 1900Ds.
Using regional aircraft has however not prevented them from taking on the low cost carriers who operate 186 seat Boeing 737-800s. CemAir has entered the intensely competitive Johannesburg - Cape Town and Durban ‘golden triangle’ market. However, she says that the bulk of their capacity is at peak times, such as Fridayand Sunday afternoons and Monday mornings. She notes that the Bombardier CRJ900 is a particularly popular option with its 31-inch seat pitch and thus better leg room than some of its competitors.
As both a regional and an increasingly networked carrier, CemAir has become an essential component in the outgrowth of air transportation across southern Africa. A key to the growth trajectory is its increasing use of codeshares and interlining agreements. The airline has interline agreements with key network carriers including Emirates, Qatar, Egypt Air, Ethiopian and SAA, and at a regional level with Mozambique’s LAM and Zambia’s Proflight.
Cemair's fleet continues to grow. Here is the latest de Havilland Dash 8-400 (ZS-DHJ).
Reassuringly, Laura van der Molen says that they are seeing positive signs in their passenger numbers, especially in tourists from the UK and Europe. She says that they are looking to expand their regional route network.
The airline has a number of applications submitted to the South African International Air Services Licencing Council. They have applied for: Brazzaville, Gabon, Libreville, Nairobi, Freetown and Entebbe. She reports that CemAir has already been awarded the Johannesburg - Luanda route, and JHB – Lagos, as well as JHB-Maputo, JHB-Lusaka and JHB -Ndola.
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