Rising fuel prices, fewer operational airlines and increased demand have caused airline ticket prices to soar. The only way around this is to start planning and booking your flights as early as possible.
South Africans who had any hopes of flying to one of SA's spectacular holiday spots around the country for a mid-year break - from Cape Town's vibrant buzz to the calling of Kruger's wild spaces - have had quite a shock as flight prices have risen rapidly.
The South African International Air Services Licensing Council (IASC) is facing a flood of new route applications, as more than 40% seat capacity gap left by the liquidation of Comair, continues to impact the domestic travel market. Cemair, a privately owned airline based at OR Tambo, is preparing several new applications, as is FlySafair.
Airlink, Lyft, and SAA have all seen price increases, as ticket pricing is subject to demand with increases automatically hiked as seats fill up.
Tips to book and secure flights at the best possible rate:
While certain tips can help you save on ticket prices, the golden rule to booking flights is to do it as early as possible. You could risk last-minute flight specials, but in the current climate, that is unlikely.
Ticket price tracking is everything right now
Subscribe to the various airlines and set alerts on social media to be alerted about any possible sales.
One of the easiest platforms for tracking flight prices is on Google Flights, where you can set a price alert by ticking the “Track prices” box. They also have a useful function for seeing flight price history.
The above and below screengrabs from Google Flights show a search for a roundtrip from OR Tambo, Johannesburg to Cape Town International, Cape Town between 11 July and 1 August, including the 2022 peak school holiday period. The Flight Tracking indicates the variance in ticket prices historically over the past 50 days.
Lean into flexible change and cancellation policies
Where possible, book immediately and check your terms and conditions to see if you can rebook if the price drops. This could bite you in the budget, if you don't read the T&Cs carefully. So be cautious before cancelling and rebooking.
Choose midweek flights
Being strategic about the days you fly is always worthwhile. Generally, mid-week has less demand than a weekend, which means you could score a better price by carefully planning around the days your arrive and depart. Choosing off-peak times can also impact the price of your ticket. It really is all regulated by demand.
Connectivity remains crucial for SA right now
And despite the negative economic outlook, domestic travel numbers continue to recover.
Spurring recovery and impacting uptake is the announcement that Middle-Eastern airline Qatar Airways and South Africa’s Airlink have signed an agreement to expand Qatar’s operations in South Africa. The codeshare agreement will offer travellers more choice and improved connectivity between 45 destinations in 12 countries across southern Africa, using one reservation, says Airlink.
Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu welcomed the partnership and says the more than 1.7 million travellers in April 2022 is encouraging.
Cape Town International Airport processed up to 30 663 total passengers a day in June and in May, domestic and international passenger numbers recovered to almost 80% of that of the same month in 2019, pre-Covid.
"We must look at opening up our air transport market even more," says Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth at the City of Cape Town, Alderman James Vos, speaking on the back of the AviaDev conference held in Cape Town last week.
Vos is calling for liberalised measures to enhance connectivity.
He says this will lead to increased utilisation of airspace, more competitive fares and more choices for the travelling public, not to mention positively impact tourism, employment and the economy at large.
Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger believes the new barriers to connectivity and travel across South Africa must be overcome, just as the industry is now moving past the Covid-19 restrictions.
Wenger says partnerships and connectivity, especially in South Africa and across Africa, remains a top priority.
"We must leverage the lessons that we have learnt during these difficult times, where our resilience is once again tested."
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