Mango is in great demand as it is the latest low cost airline in South Africa. It faces heavy competition from some of the established airlines such as 1time and kulula air which are also under the category of low-fare airlines.
Mango is owned by South African Airways, and this is sometimes a point of contention among air travelers and competing airlines. Tired of losing market share to the other low cost carriers, SAA launched Mango offering starting prices for seats that were almost half that of its competition, sparking problems on two fronts.
According to Mango’s reports, 15,000 booking requests were made in the first 10 minutes after the website went live.First, its website, its major base of operations, crashed as eager would-be customers overwhelmed the site to take advantage of the cut rate price.
The airline was criticised by other airlines for overcharging because it was a goverment-funded subsidiary of SAA and was funded by taxpayers. Mango didn’t need to charge so much since they were subsidized, so it was believed their business policy was not fair.
Even though it had a less than stellar beginning, Mango has already reported healthy profits.
The current routes include: Johannesburg to Cape Town, Cape Town to Johannesburg, Cape Town to Durban, Durban to Cape Town, Bloemfontein to Cape Town and Cape Town to Bloemfontein.
Mango has some attractive offers for the customers with the cool-off flights in which passengers can pay only R175 to fly to Durban or Johannesburg one way. Vouchers are not acceptable as it is availble only through its websites.
The Mango fleet is made up of the Boeing B737-800, known for its safety. It carries’6 guests in leather seats. Seats are arranged in two rows of three seats on either side of the center isle. Travelers receive their seat assignments after check in. Guests can choose in-flight food service.
If your child is between the ages of 7 days and 24 months, they may ride on the lap of an adult. If your child is over 24 months at the time of their flight back you must get another ticket for that return flight.
Flights on Mango are handicapped accessible. They have many types of wheelchairs and other accommodations. Emergency rows will never be filled by physically impaired travelers or those with young children.
Mango doesn’t allow pets in the cabins on any of its flights. There is the option of transporting your pet in the pressurized cargo hold, but this is subject to availability .
For added flexibility for this group, Mango Plus tickets provide access to a business class lounge, 10 kg extra luggage and vouchers for meals. Customers may choose to pay for tickets by credit card, by Edgars account (adds approximately R40), cash, voucher, or POLi – internet banking and debit cards.Mango offers Mango Flex tickets which allow ticket holders to change the date, time and destinations of their tickets. These features apply to travel during the week, not weekend flights. Business travelers are the main participants in this program.
With the partnership of several other companies Mango is able to offer several additional conveniences as well as discounts. Some of the additional benefits to Mango customers are an option to use store credit cards to pay for tickets from Edcon, low cost care hire from SIXT and 25% savings when Mango is purchased with a Voadacom card.
Tom Martens is the content syndication coordinator for South Arica’s leading Flight comparison portal, which includes Mango Airlines amongst others.
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