1time Airline was launched on 25 February 2004 as South Africa’s first and only genuine low cost carrier. Until 1time Airline came to the market, the only existing low cost carrier was Kulula, which is a division of a larger, premium cost carrier. Kulula was offering airfares at 15 percent below the premium cost and as such, 1time Airline saw a gap in the market to offer a real low cost carrier. Upon entering the market, 1time Airline smashed any existing low cost airfares by up to 50 percent. Since day one, 1time Airline has filled its flights and as such, it has been able to grow its fleet by two aircraft per year. Today, the airline has 12 aircraft in total and is constantly looking at expansion opportunities.

1time Airline mainly operates domestic flights within South Africa; however it does fly to Livingstone in Zambia, Zanzibar and Tanzania. “We carry two million passengers a year,” says Rodney James, CEO at 1time Airline. “In our first year we carried 384,000 passengers so as you can see we have had great growth.” In fact, 1time Airline has been South Africa’s fastest growing airline since it entered the market, according to statistics from ACSA (Airports Company South Africa).

“More nice, less price”

The company’s strap line is “More nice, less price” and it is this guiding ethos which James believes has allowed the company to achieve such great success in a relatively short space of time. “In everything we do we ask ourselves, is it “More nice, less price,” whatever we do, we need to do it better than anybody else and we need to do it at a lower cost,” he explains. “That is the culture we have at the airline; before we look at doing anything – before we purchase stationary or a desk or incur any costs, we look at it and we apply, “More nice, less price,” if it lives up to that, then we do it.”

James acknowledges that as an airline, it is hard to have a unique selling point – you simply have to do what you do well. The company’s guiding ethos and its dedication to customer service is what sets it apart from the competition. James also concedes that 1time Airline’s marketing and advertising budget “is a fraction of that of our competitors” and as such, relies heavily on word of mouth, so has to “surprise and delight” its customers every time.

Customer service

The airline is headquartered near OR Tambo International Airport and employs approximately 650 members of staff. 1time Airline has its own in-house training facilities and teaches its employees hard and soft skills to ensure they are providing the best customer service at all times.

The company also pays an external auditing company to run a customer service index programme; the company makes a certain amount of phone calls to customers each month, and asks them a group of set questions – from those results, the airline can gage customer reaction, monitor how well it is being received and constantly improve its product.

Investing in the future

Over the next couple of years, 1time Airline is looking at replacing its entire fleet of aircraft as well as expanding across South Africa and greater Africa. As James explains, “We are looking at extending our domestic networks shortly, loading about 50 additional sectors per week domestically, which will also include operations out of Lanseria. We are also looking at launching a new regional route within the next three months. Furthermore we are considering expansion into Africa – progress is slow, due to bilateral agreements, but we are looking at strategies regarding how we can actually operate within central and sub-Saharan Africa.”

 With a firm guiding ethos, well trained staff and a dedication to improvement, 1time Airline looks set to hold its title as South Africa’s fastest growing airline for a few more years to come. James is confident that the company is built on solid foundations and as such, he is positive that expansion across Africa is going to be a very real possibility for South Africa’s first genuine low cost carrier.