| Airline: | Skywise |
| Iata: | C9 |
| Icao: | SWZ |
| Callsign: | SKYWISE |
| Founded: | 2013 |
| Commenced: | 11 February 2015 |
| Ceased: | 10 November 2015 |
| Headquarters: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Key People: |
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| Website: | http://skywise.co.za/ |
Skywise was a South African domestic low-cost airline headquartered in Johannesburg and based at OR Tambo International Airport. It solely operated flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town, but suspended operations in November 2015.
Skywise was founded by Tabassum Qadir and J. Malik in March 2013. Skywise received its air service license in 2014, and the official launch flight took place on 11 February 2015. On 5 March 2015, the first daily scheduled flights commenced.
On 20 October 2015, Skywise announced the reduction of frequency between Johannesburg and Cape Town from eight to six return flights per day. The frequency was to be improved shortly as the plans to revitalise the airline were underway. An additional Boeing 737 was to be acquired to serve the increased number of flights. The airline was also eyeing regional routes into other countries in Africa.
Skywise was barred from taking off from Cape Town or Johannesburg for several hours on 11, 12 and 13 October 2015 because of debts owed to Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and Air Traffic & Navigation Services (ATNS). From a total of 24 flights, only 6 flights were affected during the three days. By 15 October, all flights between Cape Town and Johannesburg – the route that the airline serviced four times a day – were taking off on time. Following the Skywise dispute with ACSA and ATNS, Skywise received a lot of negative publicity.[1] The media reported that Skywise was "grounded"[2] whilst Skywise affirmed that only two of their eight flights were affected for the day; the 'grounding' formed the major part of media coverage as it was maintained that they were not flying.
However, the airline later confirmed it had received a notice from Acsa warning it would be shut down because of unpaid airport charges[3] and by 10 November 2015 all of Skywise's aircraft had been withdrawn, effectively halting further operations.[4] Flights never resumed, and the airline's official website was shut down.
80% of the airline was owned by South Africans, including the Mandela Family and the Co-CEO Irfan Pardesi, while 20% is owned by Pak Africa CEO Tabassum Qadir. The company was co-chaired by Faizel Motlekar and J. Malik. Johan Borstlap, was the other Co-CEO and Muhammed Saleem Kachi Kumhar, Deputy Chairperson. Some of the board members had interests in another failed low-cost airline, which liquidated in November 2012. Skywise operated in two cities; Johannesburg and Cape Town and the head office was in Sandton City, Johannesburg.
Skywise had partnerships with:
Skywise Airlines serviced South Africa's most popular domestic route between Johannesburg and Cape Town, flying six times daily.
South AfricaAt closure, the Skywise fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[5]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes/sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 1 | - | 142 | ||
| Boeing 737-500 | 1 | - | 126 | ||
| Total | 2 | - | |||