Santaco's Low Cost Airline Takes Flight

The South African National Taxi Council's low cost airline was launched on Friday at Lanserai airport with President Jacob Zuma stating that the airline will open up flying to many South Africans that were previously unable to access it. He also stated that Santaco’s new business venture shows growth in the South African aviation industry.

MPLS VPN will be utilized to generate accessible computer information together with business broadband. Air travel has high costs associated with it and also has a stigma attached to it that states that it is reserved for the few elite. This new airline carrier hopes to break these perceptions and offer air travel to the general public of South Africa. President Jacob Zuma stated, when talking about this new low cost travel alternative, "Santaco is therefore opening air travel to the masses, building on the contribution of other low-cost airlines that entered the market recently."

With the launch on Friday, Santaco ran a test flight from Johannesburg to Bisho located in the Eastern Cape. They will initially only fly once to twice a day between Johannesburg, Lanseria and then will start flying into Cape Town.

The main target market of the airline will be Johannesburg c0ommuters. A lot of people travel to parts of the cape having to take a 14 hour taxi trip with many dangers, only to return a few hours later if needing to attend a wedding or a funeral.  Commuters will be looked after in terms of transportation to and from the airports with taxis taking them to the airports and then collecting them when they land and taking them to a central taxi rank at their destination.

President Jacob Zuma congratulated the taxi council on being the first fully-black owned airline. Over 10 000 taxi owners own the airline making it the most broad-based black empowerment ventures in South Africa.  Zuma also stated that the government will continue to support the low coast air travel airline and also public transport in South Africa in general.

Although Santaco’s heart is in the right place in introducing a new means of transport to the lower end of the South African public, it has not always been reflected in the most positive of lights in the media with emphasis being put on their violent protest of the bus system, they have earned the public’s distrust. Taxi violence and accidents are rife and with the recent story of a young women being hit and dragged for 20 meters by a taxi whom then fled the scene,  will not prove favourable in the recent news and introduction of the taxi council’s airline. Let us hope that Santacos new airline will adhere a little more to the rules that the taxi drivers on the roads of South Africa ignore with such nonchalance.