Safair is an airline based at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa. It operates one of the world's largest fleets of civil Lockheed L-100 Hercules cargo aircraft.Flight International 2010 World Airliner census. Retrieved 27 August 2010Flight International 12–18 April 2005
Safair is a Level 4 BBBEE contributor. Safair Operations (PTY) LTD has been independently verified in accordance with the Codes of Good Practice, issued in terms of section 9(1) of the Broad Black Based Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003 as Amended per Act 46 of 2013 (Gazette 37271 of 27 January 2014).
The airline is an affiliate of ASL Aviation Holdings. Humanitarian Aid and Relief operations has always been Safair's "niche" market. Safair assists aid and relief agencies such as the United Nations, World Food Programme, and the International Committee of the Red Cross in delivering much needed humanitarian aid to stricken regions on the African continent as well as other areas in the world where such assistance is required.
History Safair Operations as it is known today was established in 1965. At the time it was known as Tropair (Pty) Ltd and was a general aviation charter company. In 1970 the company name changed to Safair Freighters (Pty) Ltd when the company was purchased by Safmarine and the new entity began operations on 18 March 1970. Its primary client in the 1980s was the South African Defence Force.
Until 2018, Safair was contracted to the Italian Antarctic Program (National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA)) to support science over the austral summer, flying Lockheed L-100-30 missions from Christchurch, New Zealand to Zucchelli Station in Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. In 2007, Safair obtained its IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) approval.
Fleet
the Safair fleet consists of the following aircraft:"ASL Aviation Group Signs Letter of Intent to Procure Lockheed Martin LM-100J Freighters" – CNN MONEY. Retrieved 16 July 2014"Our Fleet" – Safair. Retrieved 12 December 2013
+ Safair fleet Aircraft In fleet On order NotesBoeing 737-8007PassengerBoeing 737-40010PassengerBoeing 737-400C1Combi aircraftLockheed L-100-30 Hercules6Freight only, passenger only, or combiLockheed Martin LM-100J10Ordered in 2014 to replace current L-100sTotal2410
Previously operated ATR 72Klee, Ulrich & Bucher, Frank et al. jp airline-fleets international. Zürich-Airport, 1966–2007 Beechcraft 1900DKlee, Ulrich & Bucher, Frank et al. jp airline-fleets international. Sutton, UK, 2008–2013 Boeing 707-320"History of Safair" – Safair. Retrieved 25 March 2022 Boeing 727-100 Boeing 727-200 Boeing 737-200 British Aerospace 146-100QT British Aerospace 146-200QC CASA CN-235 Convair 580 Lockheed L-100-20 Hercules McDonnell Douglas MD-81 McDonnell Douglas MD-82 Partenavia P.68B Partenavia AP.68TP-600 Viator
Reliability and on-time performance In October 2023, Safair was the most reliable low-cost carrier according to Cirium's On-Time Performance rankings.Cirium's On-Time Performance rankings In October 2023, Safair flights arrived on time 90.81% of the time.
FlySafair
In 2013, Safair created a low-cost carrier operating under a separate brand called FlySafair. The initial plan to operate flights in October 2013 had to be cancelled, as a result of a High Court application by Comair. FlySafair is currently operational, with the first flight having taken place on 16 October 2014. FlySafair operates passenger flights between Cape Town, George, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Lanseria, Durban, Bloemfontein, Hoedspruit, Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, East London, Zanzibar, Mauritius, Harare, Livingstone, Victoria Falls and Maputo.
References
External links
Official website