1. AN ASSESSMENT OF KEY SUCCESS FACTORS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN LOW COST AIRLINE INDUSTRY  ‘
S. DAVIDS, T. MTIMKULU, Z. MAPINGA & S. DHLIWAYO

2. Background & Problem
Deregulation of the South African airline industry in 1990: opportunities for low cost airlines to emerge and compete within the industry (Paelo & Vilakazi 2016)
Lowered entry barriers: LC Airlines entering the market between 1990 and 2017 (Paelo & Vilakazi 2017)
Harsh business environment: only 6 of the 11, still in operation (Mhlanga 2017)
airlines ceased operations ( )
Few market entrants survive over long periods of time
Few manage to resiliently maintain market share.

3. History of airlines in the South African domestic market after deregulation: 1990 to 2019 (Adapted from Mhlanga 2017:6)
No.
Airlines
Start
End
Full Service Airlines / Low Cost Airline 1
SA Airlink
March 1992
Still operating
Low Cost Airline 2
Bop Air
July 1979
September 1992
Full Service Airlines 3
Flite star
October 1991
April 1994 4
SA Express (SAX)
May 2018 5
Sun Air
November 1994
August 1999 6
Phoenix Airways
December 1994
August 1995 7
Atlantic Airways
October 1995 8
Nationwide Airways
December 1995
April 2008 9
Kulula.com
August 2001 10
1Time
February 2004
November 2012 11
Comair
March 2006 12
Mango
October 2006 13
Velvet Sky
March 2011
February 2012 14
Fly Go Air` 15
Flysafair
October 2014
Still operation 16
Skywise
March 2015
December 2015 17
Fly Blue Crane
September 2015
February 2017
Total Low Cost
Total Full Cost 06

4. ASSUMPTIONS Various key success factors (KSFs) Service Factor
Turnaround Time
Homogenous Fleet
Point to Point travel hub
Seat Density
Choice of Airport and
Distribution System.
Effective application of these factors should bring success to the low-cost airlines.

5. METHODOLOGY Literature review A qualitative research approach
Convenient and purposive sampling (industry experts)
Initially identified 12 managers (previous and current employees of various LCA)
Three managers interviewed, (Years experience in LCA: 19, 16 and 7 years)
(10 years; 2 years & 3 years in the current company).

6. FINDINGS Massive start-up cost required
Support needed from established airline’s (big brother)
Profitability is extremely low
Market growth potential: Large population not using air transportation
Without support & mkt development: Difficult to come into operation and become sustainable

7. CONCLUSION Adopt and stick to the low cost no frills formula:
1. Avoiding fruitless expenditure at airports
2. Keep staff compliment minimal
3. Aircrafts should spend as much time in the air & little time on the ground
4. Using cheaper airports
Results show that adherence to the KSFs enhances chances of survival in industry
Future research (& Limitations)
1. Consult more industry experts
2. Feedback from failed LC airlines

8. .
THANK YOU .