Mango (airline)

Mango Airlines SOC Ltd, trading as Mango, was a South African low-cost airline based at the OR Tambo International Airport,[2] and a subsidiary of South African Airways. Since July 2021, the airline had been grounded, as funding for its business rescue was subject to a dispute.[3] However in August 2022 its license was suspended altogether.[1]

For the type of fruit, see Mango.

Mango Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
JE MNO TULCA
Founded30 October 2006 (2006-10-30)
Ceased operationsJuly 2021 (operations)
August 2022 (license suspended)[1]
HubsO. R. Tambo International Airport
Focus citiesCape Town International Airport
Frequent-flyer programVoyager
Fleet size2
Destinations8
Parent companySouth African Airways
HeadquartersKempton Park, Gauteng
Key peopleWilliam Ndlovu CEO
Employees+-750
Websiteflymango.com

History

Mango was launched on 30 October 2006, with bookings going on sale at midnight on the same date. Mango's first flight took place on 15 November 2006. Mango planned to join Star Alliance as a Connecting Partner in the third quarter of 2016, but the plan has been put on hold due to South African Airways' financial state.[4]

Mango was grounded due to non-payments and debt to ACSA (Airports Company of South Africa) on 28 April 2021. No Mango airliners were allowed to either depart or land at any ACSA airport in South Africa as of 28 April 2021. Only a statement of apology was issued by the company. As of then, it was to be seen if any money from government which was granted to South African Airways (of which Mango is a subsidiary) was to be allocated to Mango as a bailout.[5] However it never resumed operations and in August 2022, the South African authorities suspended the airlines license altogether for at least two years.[1]

On September 6 2023, the Gauteng High Court ruled that the Minister of Public Enterprises must make decision within 30 days regarding the sale of Mango.[6]

Corporate affairs

Ownership

Mango was 100% owned by South African Airways,[7] which is itself owned by the government of South Africa, but Mango operates independently as a low-cost airline with its own Board and balance sheet.

Head office

Mango's head office was at OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, on the mezzanine level of the Domestic Departure Terminal.[8][9]

Financial and operational figures for Mango were fully incorporated within the SAA Group figures. Not all the results in the Group reports are broken down to subsidiary level, however, and therefore some figures below are from press reports.[10][11] As of March 2020, no results for Mango have been released for 2018 and 2019 because SAA has not itself released its Group results. (Figures below as at year ending 31 March:)

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Turnover (Rm) 1,360 1,942 2,200 2,300 2,143
Net Profit/Loss before tax (Rm) 40.3 38.0 −36.9
Net Profit/Loss after tax (Rm) loss 10.9 13.7 0.3 c. −92.8 39.1 −16.1 12.5
Number of passengers (m) 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.3 2.5 3.0 2.9
Passenger load factor (%) 86 77 81.3 82.4 81.0 83.2
Number of staff (at year end) 598 713
Number of aircraft (at year end) 4 4 4 5 7 6 8 9 10 10
Notes/sources [10][12] [10][12][13] [10][12] [10][12][14] [10][12] [15] [16] [11] [11][17] [18]

Destinations

Before having all of its flights grounded on 28 April 2021, Mango served the following destinations:[19]

Country City Airport Notes
South AfricaBloemfonteinBram Fischer International Airport
Cape TownCape Town International AirportFocus city
DurbanKing Shaka International Airport
East LondonEast London Airport
GeorgeGeorge Airport
GqeberhaChief Dawid Stuurman International Airport
JohannesburgO. R. Tambo International AirportHub
TanzaniaZanzibarZanzibar International Airport

Historical Fleet
Mango Boeing 737-800

As of July 2021, the Mango fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[20]

Mango Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Introduced Retired Passengers Notes
Boeing 737-300 1 2015 2016 148
1 2017 2019
Boeing 737-800 4 2006 2020 186
1 2011
1 2012
2 2013
1 2014 2021
3 2015
4 2018
Airbus A320-200 1 2018 2019 180
Total 19

Services

In-flight services

As a low-cost airline, Mango featured a uniform fleet of aircraft with high seating density. Mango also offered online ticketing. A standard booking did not include food and drinks. Mango offered a buy on board programme offering food and drinks for purchase.[21][22]

Mango provided an in-flight magazine Mango Juice and used to offer Mango TV, a former daily in flight entertainment programme viewable on the drop-down televisions placed throughout the aircraft. In-flight Wi-Fi was also available on all flights for a fee. Wi-Fi services were provided by G-Connect, a local internet broadband provider.[23]

Frequent-flyer program

South African Airways Voyager members could redeem SAA Voyager miles with Mango, but were not yet able to earn SAA Voyager miles with Mango. No other SAA Voyager benefits, such as additional baggage, upgrades or lounge access, were applicable when using SAA Voyager miles to pay for a Mango flight.[24]

See also
  • Kulula.com, another defunct South African low-cost airline

References
  1. simpleflying.com - South Africa's Mango Airlines Has Its Licences Suspended 8 August 2022
  2. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 10 April 2007. p. 47.
  3. "AVIATION: Ailing Mango Airlines' fate still in doubt while state and SAA refuse to fund restructuring". 10 May 2022.
  4. "Press - Star Alliance - Star Alliance". www.staralliance.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  5. "Mango flights suspended | eNCA".
  6. Karuwa, Tatenda (9 September 2023). "Minister Given 30 Days To Decide On Sale Of Mango Airlines". Simple Flying. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  7. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 3 April 2007. p. 81.
  8. "Background ." Ekurhuleni. 3 (3/8). Retrieved on 30 September 2009.
  9. "Contact Us Archived 12 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine." Mango. Retrieved on 27 December 2011. "Mezzanine Level Domestic Departure Terminal OR Tambo International Airport 1627"
  10. "Statement by Minister Malusi Gigaba on Mango and the South African aviation sector". Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  11. "Financial performance 'not pretty'". Sunday Times. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  12. "SAA Group Annual Report 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  13. "Mango financial results to 31 Mar 2009". Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  14. "Mango Fleet Details and History". Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  15. "SAA Group Annual Report 2013" (PDF). Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  16. "South African Airways Group Integrated Annual Report 2014" (PDF). South African Airways. 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  17. "SAA finally reveals financial state of Mango Airlines". 24.com. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  18. "South African Airways Group Integrated Annual Report 2017". South African Airways. 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  19. "Mango Airlines | Affordable South African Domestic Flights". Mango Airlines | Affordable South African Domestic Flights. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  20. "Global Airline Guide 2017 (Part Two)". Airliner World (November 2017): 32.
  21. "Spaza Mango 1 Archived 27 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine." Mango. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  22. "Spaza Mango 2 Archived 27 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine." Mango. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  23. "Mango welcomes Sixth aircraft to its fleet; live on-board TV planned". Flymangonews.co.za. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  24. "Voyager". Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.

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