South African Express Explained

Airline:South African Express
Fleet Size:24
Destinations:9
Iata:XZ
Icao:EXY
Callsign:EXPRESSWAYS
Parent:Government of South Africa
Headquarters:O.R. Tambo International Airport
Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa
Hubs:O. R. Tambo International Airport
Frequent Flyer:Voyager
Num Employees:800

South African Express Airways SOC Ltd, known as South African Express or simply SA Express, was a state-owned airline based in South Africa that started operations on 24 April 1994, but had to cease operations on 28 April 2020. Although the airline was operationally independent of South African Airways, its flights were incorporated within the strategic alliance with South African Airways. The airline had its head office at Airways Park, Jones Road, next to O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng.[1]

History

On 24 May 2018 the South African Civil Aviation Authority grounded the airline due to "serious safety risks". They reported it could be months before the airline was operational again.[2] [3] Flights resumed on 23 August, following the issuance of airworthiness certificates for a portion of the airline's fleet.[4]

On 13 February 2020, South African Express entered the Business Rescue process, a local form of bankruptcy protection.[5] On 18 March 2020, the airline suspended all operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 28 April 2020, the business rescue practitioners submitted an application to the Pretoria High Court for the liquidation of the airline.[6] The court approved a provisional liquidation,[7] with stakeholders being given until 9 June 2020 to voice objections before a final dissolution of the company.[8]

In November 2020, the moveable assets of the company such as the eight Bombardiers, spare parts and furniture were to be sold via an online auction managed by GoIndustry DoveBid Africa.[9] The non-moveable assets such as the routes, landing rights and existing licences would be sold to FlySax, a consortium consisting of a key investor and ex-SA Express staff.[9]

Corporate affairs

Ownership

The holding company is South African Airline Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, which is wholly owned by the Government of South Africa.

Business trends

South African Express is loss-making, and its accounts have been qualified by the auditors since 2012/13; the 2016/17 accounts remain unaudited (as at July 2019) and have been subject to parliamentary questions. Figures that had been made available were disputed, and the previously published accounts were withdrawn in November 2011 after accounting errors that dated back several years were discovered. Some fuller reports have been published since then, although figures are frequently restated in the following year's Report. Available figures (for years ending 31 March) are:

200920102011201220132014201520162017
Turnover (Rm)1,857n/a1,6402,0222,2962,5622,5942,3912,310
Net profit/loss after tax (Rm)0.716.9
Number of employees (at year end)839n/a1,0261,0901,1361,1881,1271,036
Number of passengers (m)1.51.41.61.51.51.41.3
Passenger load factor (%)67646165656264
Number of aircraft (at year end)n/a24242422
Notes/sources[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] Unaudited
[17] [18]

Notes: Profitability figures for 2008/09 are not shown above(*), as they are believed to have been restated since the publication of the Annual Report. Revised figures for 2010/11 are from press reports in April 2013; the financial statements for 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 were audited, but received a qualified audit opinion.[14] [16] [18]

Destinations

South African Express served the following destinations (as of January 2020):[19] [20] All flights had been suspended by 18 April 2020.[21]

Botswana
Namibia
South Africa

Fleet

Current fleet

The South African Express fleet consisted of the following aircraft :[22]

Aircraft In ServiceOrdersPassengersNotes
Bombardier CRJ2001050
Bombardier CRJ700470
Bombardier Q4001074
Total240

Historical fleet

The airline fleet previously included the following aircraft:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. "Legal ." SA Express. Retrieved on 6 February 2011. "Street Address: 4th Floor Offices, West Wing, Pier Development, Johannesburg International Airport"
  2. News: Could be months before SA Express is off the ground again, says aviation body. Fin24. 2018-05-29.
  3. Web site: SACAA suspends SA Express flights over safety concerns. 24 May 2018. Moneyweb.
  4. Web site: South African regional SA Express cleared to restart flights . Air Transport World . 20 August 2018 . 12 September 2018.
  5. Web site: SA Express confirms Business Rescue restructuring move . Graham Dunn . FlightGlobal.com . 13 February 2020 . 17 February 2020.
  6. Web site: . 28 April 2020. Court bid to liquidate SA Express. 28 April 2020. eNCA.
  7. Web site: Meyer. Dan. 28 April 2020. Nearly 700 jobs to be lost as SA Express undergoes provisional liquidation. 1 May 2020. The South African.
  8. Web site: Mahlaka. Ray. 3 May 2020. Unpaid SA Express workers told to fend for themselves as airline nears liquidation. 5 May 2020. Daily Maverick.
  9. News: 25 October 2020. Wing your way to the SA Express sale. Sunday Times (South Africa).
  10. Web site: SA Express 2008–09 Annual Report . SA Express . 12 May 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130527135618/http://www.flyexpress.aero/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/sax-annual-report-2008-2009.pdf . 27 May 2013 . dead .
  11. Web site: SA Express 2008–09 Financial Performance . SA Express . 12 May 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130527142619/http://www.flyexpress.aero/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/south-african-express-financial-results-2008-2009.pdf . 27 May 2013 . dead .
  12. Web site: SA Express troubles come to light . Business Day. South Africa . 12 May 2013.
  13. Web site: SA Express Annual Report 2012 . SA Express . 4 March 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131135/http://www.flyexpress.aero/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/SA-Express-Annual-Report-2012.pdf . 2 April 2015 . dead .
  14. Web site: SA Express Annual Report 2013 . SA Express . 4 March 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150319011548/http://www.flyexpress.aero/annual-reports/sa-express-annual-report-2013-2/ . 19 March 2015 . dead .
  15. Web site: SA Express Annual Report 2015 . SA Express . 26 January 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170202032616/http://www.flyexpress.aero/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SAX%20Annual%20Report%202015.pdf . 2 February 2017 . dead .
  16. Web site: SA Express Annual Report 2016 . SA Express . 10 July 2019 .
  17. Web site: SA Express faces bleak situation - parliamentary committee . Fin24 . 10 July 2019 .
  18. Web site: SA Express irregular, fruitless & wasteful expenditure: hearing with Minister & Deputy Minister . Parliamentary Monitoring Group. 10 July 2019 .
  19. Web site: Route Network. Fly SA Express.
  20. Web site: Destinations and fleet . SA Express . Domestic Flights South Africa . 15 June 2019.
  21. Web site: SA Express suspends operations amid COVID-19 outbreak. 18 March 2020.
  22. Web site: Fleet. 11 February 2020. SA Express.
  23. Web site: South African Express Airways Fleet Details and History – Planespotters.net Just Aviation . Planespotters.net . 2013-04-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130409212714/http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/South-African-Express-Airways . 9 April 2013 .