Missing armrests, loose rubber bits hanging from the overhead lockers and a gap through which one could see the plane’s inner workings has turned one Joburg passenger’s love of budget airline Kulula to fearing for her life.
“If small things are falling apart without being mended or maintained, I have precious little faith in the airline’s maintenance standards overall,” said Annie Macmillan, who flew with the airline twice last month.
“After flying exclusively with Kulula for many years,I sadly made the decision that that would be the last time I would be a passenger with them.”
Macmillan claims she brought up the low standards with the crew, who said they were also concerned but could not do anything.
“Their response was that although they had submitted reports to their superiors, nothing gets done. They no longer feel safe, but need their jobs.”
Macmillan said she was not a nervous passenger, but would not place her family’s life at risk by travelling in a plane that “appears to be falling apart in front of one’s eyes”.
Heidi Brauer, executive manager of group marketing of Comair, said all Kulula planes were maintained in accordance with the manufacturers’ maintenance planning document, and their maintenance schedule was approved by the SA Civil Aviation Authority.
She said the number of passengers passing through the aircraft on a daily basis meant the interior was exposed to wear and tear.
“Unfortunately, the manufacturers do not always have spare parts available on hand, and often it needs to be specially manufactured.
“This process can take up to three months before the interior spare parts are received, and then we still need to allocate time to do the repairs,” said Brauer.
“As safety is our first priority, an aircraft will never be dispatched in an unsafe condition. Unfortunately, in this case, the interior provided a perception that the overall maintenance standard of the aircraft was unsatisfactory, which is not the case,” she said.
New Kulula aircraft would be introduced in July, which would allow some of their older models to be retired. - The Star