BY GCWALISILE KHANYILE, CANDICE BAILEY, BONGEKILE MACUPE AND SIBONGAKONKE MAMA
Johannesburg - While most 1time passengers were still frustrated and stranded after liquidation, at least those who bought their tickets through some banks will be refunded.
Absa and Standard Bank confirmed that they would reimburse their customers.
The low-cost airline, which announced on Friday that it had filed for liquidation, became the second to fall from the sky after Velvet Sky closed its doors six months ago, and a third in four years after Nationwide’s hard landing in 2008.
On Saturday, Absa said it was aware of the inconvenience experienced by its customers.
Arrie Rautenbach, retail markets head, said: “In order to make customers’ lives easier, we can confirm that all 1time purchases made with Absa-issued cards, will be refunded.”
Standard Bank spokesman Ross Linstrom said that cardholders who used their debit, credit or cheque cards could lodge a dispute with Standard Bank to have the transaction reversed.
On FNB’s official Twitter page, the bank said it would assist with the processing of refunds, but clients would have to complete a dispute form and have a receipt from the airline.
1time flights which were on Saturday scheduled to depart OR Tambo to Port Elizabeth, Durban and Cape Town were cancelled.
The airline’s ticket office was closed amid rows of empty chairs.
Airports Company SA spokes-man Solomon Makgale said officials were placed at the check-in counters to assist and advise clients.
“There is no chaos at all, but we will make a public announcement to ensure everybody knows that the airline has been liquidated,” Makgale said.
A Cape Town couple, who had just flown in from South Korea were temporarily stranded at the airport.
The couple, who only wanted to be known as Liz and John, had been teaching English in South Korea for a year. They had booked the airline tickets four months ago through a travel agent.
Liz said she was “frustrated” by the news. “I’m annoyed because I’m not even sure if I’m going to get my money back,” she said.
Their family bought them tickets from another airline to Cape Town at double the price.
“I’m going to be unemployed for a couple of months and now I owe my family money,” said Liz.
Lerato Legoabe had bought six return tickets for herself and friends last month and was uncertain if she would receive an R8 000 refund.
“We are due to travel from Johannesburg to Cape Town in three weeks, but now the company has been liquidated. The 1time website is offline and I don’t know who to contact,” Legoabe said.
On Saturday, 1time CEO Blacky Komani said their business rescue practitioner advised that there was no reasonable prospect of survival after a potential financier pulled out its investment.
He said it meant the end of a dream and an era.
Facebook and Twitter users, including employees and customers, reacted to Komani.
Some were sad, others were angry and concerned about money paid for “useless” tickets.
“We are getting married on 8 December, paid over R20 000 in tickets for friends and family! And to book new tickets for everyone is going to cost just over R40 000! Is this now R60k lost to us a month before our wedding? Thank you for making this the worst day of our lives!” Melissa Schoeman wrote.
But the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) on Saturday said the escalating costs of running airlines and fuel were the reasons why the country’s low-cost airlines were closing.
AASA chief executive Chris Zweigenthal said that the amounts charged by low-cost airlines were too low to cover the costs of running an airline. “People are much used to paying very low-cost fares and when it’s higher, they choose to wait until there is a special,” Zweigenthal said.
Comair chief executive Erik Venter said 1time’s closure was inevitable as it had operated a “less efficient” fleet.
According to Venter, 10 of the 11 private airlines launched in SA since 1991 had shut down, leaving only kulula.com and British Airways, both operated by Comair.
Venter said 1time’s closure brought into question Mango’s role in the South African market, and the government’s failure to address the unfair competition in the domestic aviation sector.
“We will obviously put up resistance to the unfair competition from SAA and Mango, this is not new to us. We have been dealing with this for most of our history,” he said.
Mango chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout said the two airlines may have been competitors but the liquidation was not good news.
Sunday Independent