For 23 years, Airlink operated under the name of South African Airways, a strategic alliance. It served as a carrier that fed South African Airways' hubs with regional or shorter flights.
Now faced with the crisis in aviation and also in South Africa, the company decided to fly with its 'own legs'. Announced that it ceased to be a subsidiary and franchise of SAA, reformulated its brand, launched a new paint job on its aircraft and will start to operate independently.
Airlink has a fleet of 46 aircraft, dedicated entirely to regional operations. The fleet consists of planes: Cessna Gran Caravan 208B, British Aerospace Jetstream 41, E-Jets ERJ-135, ERJ-140. ERJ-170 and E190. Now the company operates under its own identification code, 4Z.
"We fly in that particular nest and are inviting our loyal and new customers to fly with us as Airlink expands its network, connecting and reconnecting people, communities, businesses, goods and services with markets across southern Africa and beyond..” CEO Rodger Foster said in a statement.
Airlink's focus is on flights connecting South Africa, however the company intends to launch flights in other countries on the African continent. The company's new visual identity marks the company's rebirth, in addition to the beautiful painting that refers to sunrise with an African symbol.
Airlink broke the agreement with SAA, due to the parent company not having transferred the amount related to tickets sold on Airlink codeshare flights. The transfer was used as SAA's working capital.
The new company comes up with the motto of “Independence and freedom are the central proposals” Airlink. The new company intends to remake its history without any link or 'erase' the old link with SAA.
