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Comair flying high

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Old 23rd Feb 2007, 11:16
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Comair Profits

No doubt running a good show over their but let see them do it again with the cheap maintenance (leases) coming to and end pretty soon....somebody els must have been carrying the losses on the cheap rates....either the lessee or the outsourced maintenance folly's.Proof in the pudding would like to see how they will keep the rates locked in to the current setup....if they can get that right....buy stock>if not .....welcome to reality .
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Old 5th Jul 2007, 21:05
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Well now SAA has comair by the balls wher they want them. meaning AIrcraft not beeing released on time poor maintenance pushing up the rates like they did with Sunair can be devastating in the long run
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Old 6th Jul 2007, 05:44
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BM, I don't think SAA ever touched SUNAIR's a/c. They operated MD and B727 a/c, I'm not to sure about the time frame but didn't SUNAIR rise out of the ashes left by Phoenix Air and Flitestar?

According to what I've heard, COMAIR is very happy with their dispatch reliability of it's a/c.

E
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Old 6th Jul 2007, 09:16
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DJ said:
like most things in big companies things happen if they are championed by the most influential people.
Who are these "influential people" ??

They are the old-timers now occupying the left seat of the orange -800's. They screwed SAA over with the LCC concept (which has blatantly excluded SAA pilots) so as to line their own eroded pension funds, whilst clueless management (DJ included) followed along without an inkling of the consequences.

Mango was an ideal opportunity for SAA management to spread the parastatal burden of EE. But now its the guys who joined the SAA seniority system in the 1970's who are benefitting
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Old 6th Jul 2007, 12:41
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They are the old-timers now occupying the left seat of the orange -800's. They screwed SAA over with the LCC concept (which has blatantly excluded SAA pilots) so as to line their own eroded pension funds, whilst clueless management (DJ included) followed along without an inkling of the consequences.
Jetbut, you just continue to drag the name of SAA pilots down with these moronic posts of yours. The whole LCC discussion has been had already, SAAPA (that means you) gave it the green light. Mango is using these guys as a resource, they get paid what Mango stipulated, if they were not there then Mango would have recruited other guys to do the work. The fact that younger pilots now feel aggrieved is their own fault- they had the chance to do something about it and they didn’t. I cant help but wonder if the reason SAAPA dropped the ball here is because they were more interested in taking the company on on travel concessions so that pilots wives and girlfriends/etc were guaranteed seats instead of going on standby?

Perhaps you need to have a re-look at who are going to be the biggest losers as a result of Mango.
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Old 6th Jul 2007, 13:13
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They screwed SAA over with the LCC concept (which has blatantly excluded SAA pilots)
Really funny sentence, old chap. I understood that you were welcome to put in a CV when Mango started up. Or do you mean that they blatantly refused to offer SAA salaries to pilots to fly the LOW COST aircraft.

I cant help but wonder if the reason SAAPA dropped the ball here is because they were more interested in taking the company on on travel concessions so that pilots wives and girlfriends/etc were guaranteed seats instead of going on standby?
DJ, the rebate issue came slightly later. When Mango started the age 63 thing was quite big. I guess that is what FO Nut is referring to (and I also know that a sentence is not supposed to end with a preposition).

I don't really understand his gripe. It has been common knowledge for years that time to command in SAA is 10-15 years. That still has not changed. At least as FO he earns the same, if not more, than Captains at the other local airlines.

Now if SAA can just survive long enough for FO Nut to get command.......
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Old 6th Jul 2007, 16:48
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And the reason why Comair is flying so high lies here-in http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...ghlight=comair

The amount of talk amongst the crew of how bad it is is trully amazing, but no comments from higher up the command chain where life is more relaxed, and as for the real winners in this..?
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Old 17th Jul 2007, 16:07
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Press statement today...share some please....please...

Hello all



Please find below a press release issued to the general media in conjunction
with a trading update that was issued to our shareholders with regard to
Comair's year-end performance.


Comair expects significant year-end earnings



Johannesburg - 17 July 2007. In its sixty-first year of profitable
operation Comair Limited (Comair) has today informed its shareholders of
significant profits expected for the year ended 30 June 2007. Its headline
earnings per share and earnings per share are expected to be between 20% to
40% higher than those of last year.



Comair cautioned however that unprofitable ticket pricing by
state-subsidised SAA's new subsidiary, Mango, negatively impacted profits in
the fourth quarter of the latest financial year and may also impact future
results.



In this light Comair's joint CEO Erik Venter has said, "Once again we've had
a very successful and profitable year but the unprofitable airfares that
currently prevail in the industry are going to pose a challenge going
forward."



Comair mentioned that the current high crude oil price, if sustained could
have an impact on future earnings, however the company anticipates that the
subsequent fuel-price increases will be mitigated by the progress its made
with its fleet upgrade programme.



During the financial year just ended three newer, more fuel-efficient and
environmentally friendly Boeing 737-400s have been brought into service on
the kulula.com brand. These aircraft are 15% more cost efficient than the
older, fuel inefficient MD82 aircraft which will be replaced by the end of
the year.



Ends



Notes to editors:

* Comair is currently in a closed period which will end on 12
September 2007 when the annual results are announced
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Old 17th Jul 2007, 16:54
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Hey DJ, what I want to know is how you feel on reading Comair's results every year? Have you ever considered how wrong it may seem to employees from competing (non-state funded) airlines that unfair usage of their taxes potentially jeopardises their livelihood? SAA hijacked a concept created by brave entrepreneurs who have managed to provide a great service to the citizens of SA without state funding. It makes me ill when you try to rub our faces in the fact that only SAA & Co can "afford" new aircraft in this country. In future, kindly refrain from reminding us of this and of your decadent salaries.

Some sympathy out there for DJ please - I know I'd feel like a parasite.
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Old 18th Jul 2007, 07:47
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South African Airways Technical clinches maintenance agreement with Comair

JOHANNESBURG, 18 July 2007 – South African Airways’ technical subsidiary, SAA Technical (SAAT) has clinched one of its largest and most significant maintenance agreements by forging a deal with Comair to maintain both the British Airways and kulula.comfleets of more than 22 aircraft.

The decision by Comair to move the maintenance of its fleet of Boeing 737-300s and 737-400s to SAAT once again confirms the extent of the organisation’s solid local and international reputation. The agreement extends over five years, and is valued at more than R500m over the period.

SAA CEO Khaya Ngqula says the fact that one of the airline’s competitors has decided to entrust the safety of its aircraft to SAAT is a great compliment and a proud achievement.

“Not only will SAA Technical be able to offer Comair a seamless service, the deal will also boost our revenue and further enhance our already excellent reputation. Comair’s decision to sign up with SAA Technical as its maintenance provider underlines the fact that the standard of maintenance we offer is amongst the best in the world,” he said.

SAA Technical is the largest maintenance facility in Africa, and its dispatch reliability, which affects the on-time departure of aircraft, has consistently remained within the top 5% to 10% when compared to the world’s top carriers. Ensuring that an aircraft departs on time not only helps an airline to grow its revenue, but is also important for customer loyalty and service.

Comair joint CEO Gidon Novick says: “The excellent service levels we have had from SAAT in the past have enabled us to offer high service levels to our customers. We look forward to extending our relationship with SAAT further.”

Until now, Comair aircraft have been maintained by both SAAT and Safair, a subsidiary of Imperial Holdings. Comair currently leases several aircraft from Safair and will continue leasing aircraft from Safair in the future. In addition, the two companies will continue with their successful freight joint venture, called Imperial Air Cargo.

“We are in the process of acquiring several new aircraft as part of our fleet upgrade plan and look forward to placing these in the capable hands of SAAT,” said Novick.
SAAT will do daily and weekly A checks on the aircraft, while component and engine support will be outsourced.

SAA Technical CEO Jan Blake says maintenance on the first of Comair’s aircraft will start on July 1, and will roll out over the coming months to ensure that there is a smooth transition. With the finalisation of the contract, the B737s will be the single largest fleet type under SAAT’s maintenance schedule, which bodes well for the future.

“The B737 is the aircraft for Africa in the future which puts SAA Technical in a good position to bring in additional work from the continent in the coming years. We will be focusing on neighbouring countries to expand our services in line with our strategy of diversifying our revenue stream and sourcing additional work from outside SAA,” he says.


Notes:

-The existing Comair fleet of MD82 aircraft leased from Safair will continue to be maintained by Safair until they have been phased out. They are likely to be phased out within the next 8 months.
-Boeing 737 aircraft currently maintained by Safair will be transferred to SAAT over the next 3 months.


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Old 18th Jul 2007, 08:31
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Wolly,a most appropriate name. You seem to be a well balanced individual- a chip on both shoulders. Go try and wind someone else up, I’m too busy living this decadent lifestyle at your expense.

SAA hijacked a concept created by brave entrepreneurs who have managed to provide a great service to the citizens of SA without state funding. .
Perhaps you may consider some sort of psychiatric intervention for your delusional state, Comair didn’t invent the LCC concept, or maybe they did…..its probably all a big conspiracy, you and Jetnut must be buddies.
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Old 21st Jul 2007, 17:39
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Smile Customer Service

Note that one of the reasons stated for Comair's success is a focus on Customer Service. This has been noticeable on my last few flights with BA and Kulula and certainly means I'll continue to book on them.

The Flight Attendants are really good and whoever is doing the recruitment needs a pat on the back. Somebody has got it right!

SAA could take a leaf out of Comair's book on Customer Service!

YOUR FRONTLINE IS YOUR BOTTOMLINE
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Old 22nd Jul 2007, 14:42
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Comair's flight attendants are great. At least the pilots and cabin crew seem to get on better. The SAA cabin crew hardly greet one in the car park. Imagine how friendly they are to the customers.
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Old 22nd Jul 2007, 17:45
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Snoop

Imagine how friendly they are to the customers.
I don't think this is a problem at all... Considering the fact that the passengers hardly ever see the Flight Attendants.

Especially when they close all the shutters and switch off the lights during mid day flights over Africa etc.

Eish!
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Old 6th Aug 2007, 19:28
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Cell phone market

Comair/Kulula will be entering the cell phone market by launching its own operator by the end of the year.Saw it in DIE BURGER today.Intresting though,it will be a no frills thing.Ka ching straight to the bank.....
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Old 7th Aug 2007, 09:48
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If true, a very interesting diversification- although one that Virgin has already gone down. Speaking of going down it was recently reported that Cell C and Virgin still have not broken even- in fact Virgin are struggling to attract subscribers- as are Cell C. One wonders if Virgin cant turn a buck how are Kulula going to manage?
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Old 7th Aug 2007, 17:46
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Money money

Well i assume the launch of their own cell phone operator is true since the chaps at kulula said so themself.I cant seem to find the article rite now to shed some more light on it!Kulula said they did their homework on the whole celphone thing.Maybe they see something we dont!Deskjockey?
Virgin an cel c a flop cause they simply not competitive enough.Well im sure the guys at MN can make this work an make more cash.Curious there is this technology they testing where they put some device on a/c so that people can make call and use 3g laptop etc etc while flying at cruising altitude,this will only be allowed when the captain permits its use during flite.Will this technology be coming here?If so with this kulula cellphone thing they will definately be the first to introduce it on their a/c......Enough said
kulula best low cost carier in africa on skytrax,but didnt mango also get that award....
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Old 8th Aug 2007, 07:56
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Its just that there are roughly 45 million odd people in SA right now and there is purported to be around 40 million sim cards issued to date. Where is the gap? The only thign I can think of is them going into a JV on this with either MTN or Vodacom-on the lines of their credit card?

Thing is, I have some reliable information that they have only managed to get over 10 000 green credit cards out into the market. Im sure they wont be happy with that- especially given the amount of money invested in marketing the venture.

Me thinks they should keep their eye on the ball and forget the power of their brand- which if the credit card performance is anything to go by, is a lot less powerful then they think. Perhaps they should issue another cautionary note in their financials about potential losses due to continued speculative ventures
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Old 8th Aug 2007, 11:35
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Power in a brand

Time and time again, many market gurus have advocated the power of a brand (please reaad the latest Harvard Business journal). Coca Cola, Virgin...the names alone command serious figures on the balance sheet. So maybe there might just be something there,huh, DJ?

To make matters worse, recent events have shown that SAA tend to be market followers rather then market leaders....LCC's, years later Mango. Kulula credit cards, years later SAA credit card. Comair,Kulula,Link,Sax,1Time, buy new aircraft. SAA park new aircraft. Is it me or did i lose the plot along the line somewhere??
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Old 8th Aug 2007, 12:16
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Im not disputing the power of the brand. What I am disputing the the power of the Kulula brand. Big Difference.

Furthermore, it not about when something is done- its how good the execution is that counts. The Voyager credit card is a huge success as is Mango. The early bird doesn’t always catch the worm.

As for "new" aircraft that these carriers supposedly brought online?

Comair- 2nd hand 734's
1Time- 2ndhand MD82's
Link- 2nd hand BAE 146's
SAX- 2nd hand CRJs and 2 NEW Q400's

So out of that list the only new aircraft acquired during the last 2 years was SAX with a brace of Q400's, facts facts.......

SAA parks new aircraft? so you are calling the 744's "new" now eh?
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