It may be fourth time lucky for investment firm Harith as it moves closer to acquiring budget airline FlySafair.
Despite the airline’s insistence that the transaction is unrelated to regulatory pressure, the deal would effectively resolve the foreign ownership and voting concerns that have followed the carrier since 2024.
The Citizen first reported on the proposed deal in November last year.
Harith’s FlySafair deal could proceed
Harith has pursued aviation investments before. Its involvement in the failed Takatso Consortium bid for SAA did not materialise into ownership.
Mango and Comair were also previously linked to its acquisition ambitions. FlySafair now appears to be the first transaction likely to proceed to completion.
And while FlySafair marketing manager Kirby Gordon said the transaction was not in response to the licensing council’s demand for local ownership clarity, the deal seals the carrier’s future with both the domestic and international licensing councils.
ALSO READ: FlySafair responds to ‘rowdy’ EFF supporters en route to Malema court appearance
The airline has defended its ownership structures since 2024.
But the deal could see FlySafair become government owned, though once removed, via Harith.
Aviation analyst Guy Leitch said it raises concerns.
Concerns about government-linked airlines locally
“We remain concerned that this shows a reversion back to an uneven playing field, where there were two government-owned airlines,” he said.
He said he hoped there would be no interference in the operation of the airline. This, Leitch added, could take the shape of decisions on network destinations and the expression of the national development mandate.
In effect, as some sources said, a continuation of the SAA budget carrier Mango’s journey.
ALSO READ: Union slams FlySafair for ‘bad faith’ talks
Gordon reassured South Africans in a statement: “The airline will continue to operate under its existing brand, leadership and strategy, delivering the same affordable fares, reliable operations and strong on-time performance that customers have come to expect.”
While the transaction is subject to Competition Commission approval, an industry commentator said that it was likely that there would be no real challenges.
FlySafair claims more than 60% of the domestic market, while this week SAA said its share was 24% of the domestic market.
FlySafair claims more than 60% of domestic market
“It could place significant parts of the domestic market back under indirect government influence,” said a source.
When The Citizen reported on the potential deal last year, department of transport spokesperson Collen Msibi reassured the public it would not be another government carrier.
Economist Dawie Roodt said in November that political interference would be inevitable in such a transaction, and United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa agreed.
NOW READ: FlySafair B-BBEE deal could tighten state grip on skies
About the Author
