State-owned domestic and regional airline SA Express, as part of its relaunch strategy, has reinstated two more of its services. This is part of its plan to re-establish its best-performing routes as soon as possible. The two routes concerned are the domestic Johannesburg–Hoedspruit (Mpumalanga province) service and the regional Johannesburg–Walvis Bay (Namibia) service.

The Johannesburg–Walvis Bay service has been operating since September 24 and the Johannesburg–Hoedspruit route restarted on October 11. This brings the number of routes now being operated by the airline, since it was relaunched in August, to seven. The airline is seeking to fill the gap in the business travel market created by its some four-month-long grounding in the middle of this year.

“SA Express’s primary objective is to connect secondary destinations to main airport hubs and connect people to businesses and people to their loved ones and we’re determined not to make our passengers wait any longer than necessary,” affirmed airline interim CEO Siza Mzimela. “The latest additions to our travelling roster is therefore a clear indicator of our promise to optimise on our efficiency as a business while observing industry standards for safety, product quality and customer service.”

SA Express was grounded by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) in May, because an audit had “uncovered severe cases of noncompliance that pose serious safety risks”. Subsequently, SA Express was (in the airline’s words) subjected to a “stringent and rigorous process” to restore its standards to the levels required by the regulator.

As a result, the SACAA reinstated the airline’s certification as an Aircraft Maintenance Organisation early in July. Subsequently, the regulator also reinstated SA Express’s air operator’s certificate and reissued certificates of airworthiness for most of (if not, by now, all) its fleet.

“The SA Express board of directors, executive management team and employees have worked very hard to ensure that the airline’s return to service is efficient and sustainable,” she said. “It is in this vein that the airline adopted the new route rationalisation model. which includes meticulous analysis of the airline’s route network in order to fully return to service. “Key to this new business model is the adoption of a customercentric service with an on-time performance (OTP) of 90% and we are delighted to say that, since our first return to commercial flight on 23 August 2018, our average OTP has remained consistently above 90%.

“Over the past months, we have received countless messages of support from our passengers and partners and this is evidence of the critical role SA Express plays in the South African aviation ecosystem,” she affirmed. In its press release, the airline stated it provided “seamless connectivity between primary and secondary domestic destinations in South Africa and five other Southern African Development Community countries.” Originally set up in April 1994, it has had an “unblemished” safety record over the past 24 years.

In a press release back in August, the airline stated it had 11 aircraft. According to its website, the airline has a fleet of 24 aircraft (ten 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 jets, four 70-seat Bombardier CRJ700 jets and ten 74-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprops). It was not clear if the press release was referring only to those aircraft which had their certificates of airworthiness withdrawn, or if some aircraft had been withdrawn from service.