2010 Air

[Mila]

http://beta.mnet.co.za/carteblanche/Article.aspx?Id=3863&ShowId=1

In less than 100 days' time, airlines from all over the world will descend on our major airports and cities with football teams and tens of thousands of their supporters.

After six years of planning and preparatory work Solomon Makgale, communications manager of the Airports Company of South Africa, believes our airports are ready for the influx.

Solomon Makgale (Group Manger, Communications: ACSA): 'We have got a dedicated team that essentially all they do is focusing on making sure that our airports are ready for 2010. Now, to make an airport work, you need service providers. Key to that are the airlines. So we are working very closely with them to get an understanding as to exactly how many people are going to be here for the World Cup. The number that's been given to use formally is 450 000 people.'

But there are reports suggesting there may be far fewer football fans coming to South Africa than originally anticipated.
Small charter operators like Evan Bailey were hoping the World Cup would be a flourishing cash cow.
Evan Bailey (CEO: Bateleur Air Charter): 'It has been rather disappointing. A lot of us - in our planning about a year ago - made provision for what we thought was going to be a huge influx of massive numbers, large volumes. We had no idea how we were going to move these people around the country. And, to be honest, the picture is not as rosy as we anticipated.'

For South African domestic carriers, the uncertainty of flight bookings around the World Cup is having a negative impact on domestic travel. The hype around the World Cup is counter- productive for 1Time Airline's CEO, Rodney James.

Derek Watts (Carte Blanche presenter): 'But Rodney, the problem is we really don't know how many people we are getting.'

Rodney James (CEO: 1Time Airline): 'We don't know Derek. We don't know... You know, we get letters from the department of transport... and it is pressure... saying: When are we going to load extra schedules? When are we going to load extra flights? And we are saying, 'Guys, we are down 11% on last year. Do we need extra flights?' We don't know that we need extra flights.'

Normally airlines can predict travel requirements by historical patterns, but for Gidon Novick - Comair/Kulula joint CEO - these patterns around the World Cup have changed.

Gidon Novick (Joint CEO: Comair Limited): 'The World Cup is something that is completely different; something that is completely new. And the honest truth is we don't know what's going to materialise.'

Derek: 'Have you signed with MATCH?'

Gidon: 'Well there is a certain guarantee. Obviously not all of it is guaranteed because even they are not certain of demand. So that will materialise as we get close to the World Cup.'

Derek: 'The major role player in the domestic shuttle is our own national carrier, SAA. They are adding aircraft to all the main routes, including these soon-to-be-retired Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets.'

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[Mila]

These 380-seat Jumbos will supplement regular aircraft used on the Johannesburg - Cape Town route when there is a very high demand for passenger seats.

Derek: 'Ian, will SAA be operating on a 24-hour basis, getting fans to the matches, back from the matches like 02:00 in the morning?'

Ian Cruikshank (SAA 2010 Project Leader): 'Yes Derek. What we've noticed is, for instance, when a game starts at 08:30 and finishes at 10:30, we expect people to then start arriving at the airport from around 01:00 to 01:30 in the morning. And the only way for them to get home is now via air transport. So our schedule begins from 2 o'clock in the morning. And we have a flight at 2 o'clock in the morning, at 02:05, at 02:10, trying to cater for everyone to get them back to their home cities where they're staying.'

Ian Cruikshank, project leader of the airline's planning committee, says although ticket sales are sluggish, the airline is prepared to take a gamble.

Derek: 'Some of the local airlines we've spoken to are clearly disappointed about the bookings so far.'

Ian: 'Well Derek, the numbers have not been exactly what we were told they would be, but we are taking the approach that a lot of our markets are in fact late booking markets. So we are looking at the FIFA numbers very, very carefully, and we've taken note that we do expect a lot of tickets - the last million tickets in fact - to be sold very late in the game. So we are putting on extra capacity, extra schedules. We are taking the risk and just hoping that it does materialise.'

Derek: 'London will be the hub for most overseas football fans flying to South Africa. British Airways currently operate 14 flights a week to this country. And they are only adding five flights a week to cater for that extra demand.'

South African Airways is gearing up for extra flights on their normally popular South American routes.

Ian: 'There is a huge demand and we are actually putting additional flights into places like Buenos Aires, extra aircraft into Sao Paulo, Brazil, to cater for that market. And we are very closely watching the schedules [and] the other international destinations to see what the demand looks like.'

Derek: 'But Ian, I'd have thought that Europe is a lucrative market?'

Ian: 'Europe is an incredible market, but we are noticing that the flights are getting pretty full and we're noticing huge pressure waves, if you like, building up before matches. And the same again on the return sectors going back to Europe. So we're noticing that a couple of markets are flying in for a match or two matches, and then flying straight back out to Europe, so not all flights are actually full.'

Derek: 'This is the simulator where SAA pilots attain their flying skills. And it has been working overtime over the past few months. The airline wants to ensure that every single pilot is available and fully trained for those extra flights. Ready for take-off...'

From within the nerve centre of Air Traffic Control at OR Tambo Airport, radar controllers monitor the flight paths of every aircraft flying over South African airspace.

Derek: 'This is CAMU, Central Airspace Management Unit. Every single flight in the country, or even approaching its boarders, is being monitored. On a busy day about 2 000 flights cross that screen. They are gearing up for about 3 500 during the World Cup... virtually a white-out.'

A unique air traffic monitoring system has been introduced for the World Cup, says Sandile Maphanga, the acting manager at Central Airspace Management Unit.

Sandile Maphanga (Acting Manager: CAMU): 'At the moment we are currently running close to 2 000 on a busy day. We envisage 3 000, as you say, but that's why we've brought in the systems that we have, like the air flow traffic management system, to help us manage those kinds of numbers and the future growth of aviation in South Africa.'

Derek: 'Sandile, red alert there [on screen]. What does that mean?'

Sandile: 'The red alert on our screen at the back there shows us that a sector, when it is monitored, in two hours' time will get over-loaded. And then we have to react to that colour change. We are working on a pre-tactical situation where we are two hours ahead of the current traffic that is running. So we are always planning to make sure that the air traffic controller working down the hall doesn't get over-worked.'

The capacity at the OR Tambo Airport is 60 aircraft per hour, which means that during peak times close to vital match days, an aircraft will either be landing or taking off every minute.

But many smaller airports simply don't have similar capacity. ACSA admits that Port Elizabeth Airport could be a challenge.

Solomon: 'I think the smaller cities are going to be a challenge in accommodating the additional traffic. From our side what we've done, in addition to upgrading the current facilities, we are going to have a temporary terminal facility at Bloemfontein and at PE. These temporary facilities will enable us to accommodate the additional passenger traffic that is expected for the tournament during the matches in those two cities. '

Derek: 'Now it is something we never think about: aircraft parking.'

Ian: 'Absolutely. What you'll find is a lot of aircraft that come from Europe on a charter basis will come to South Africa and they will want to park in an airport and wait until the game is finished. And we just can't do that. They will have to move those aircraft to another airport, like Bloemfontein or Upington, and then move them back after the match. So... a huge amount of logistics going into this tournament.'

Last month the department of transport issued a letter to all schedule airlines advising of 'general concern regarding the supply of air seats for the World Cup'.

Airfares have risen steeply, in some cases quadrupled. The Competition Commission is even investigating the dramatic price rise.

Ian: 'Derek, some prices are higher and there are some very good reasons for this. A lot of our costs have increased over the 2010 period and a good example in fact is Port Elizabeth. When we fly to Port Elizabeth, we basically have to fly to Port Elizabeth, offload our passengers, move that aircraft somewhere else - Upington perhaps - wait for the game to finish, send it back into Port Elizabeth, fetch those passengers and take them back for example to Johannesburg. So there is a lot of empty legs, a lot of dead flying, there that actually costs a lot of money.'

Gidon Novick is critical of these comments made by the department of transport.

Gidon: 'I don't think the department has done their homework. If we have got 100 seats on a flight and we anticipate that there is going to be massive demand on those 100 seats, we are obviously not going to sell them at a cheap rate. We are going to sell them at the full rate. But those rates are no different to what you'd expect to pay during any other peak period.'

With little more than three months to the big 'kick off', there will be no turning back.

Solomon: 'We are confident that together with our partners, when the World Cup is over, for people to say that Airports Company South Africa, its partners, with our partners the airlines, the police, and the ground handling companies, did the best for South Africa.'

The Soccer World Cup will be remembered for many years by fans after leaving the shores of Africa. The logistics are daunting. The nation trusts our airlines are up to the challenge

Question: I thought the tickets were all sold out and that just a few are left for the over the counter sales?

 

[Mila]

Another Question: If I buy tickets to a game in say London, would I not have booked my air tickets by now?

 

[R13...]

Question: I thought the tickets were all sold out and that just a few are left for the over the counter sales?

You thought wrong... try fifa.com/2010, there's a banner add there showing the approximate number of tickets still available.

 

[Mila]

You thought wrong... try fifa.com/2010, there's a banner add there showing the approximate number of tickets still available.

I will thanx I did not even think of going there..

But do you think these people are flying other airlines? Cause why does our Airlines not know?

I know all these people are coming I just think they will fly other airlines and take the local one's for in land flights, if they need to take them. I mean we are not know for "cheap" air fairs.

 

[Albereth]

The numbers are not there.

You want to know how many people are coming to the world cup look at the return tickets being sold with SA as a destination during the WC.

This bull about gearing up is nonsense. Airlines don't hope they'll sell the tickets, they pretty much know. 5 extra flights a week? What's that, about 1500 people, call it 6000 over a month. And then add up a few more aircraft - where are the people? From the news reports it looks like there will be more hookers than footie fans.

They know how many people have booked flights in - and if you take a look at a map, none of our neighbours are in the WC so if you are a fan, you are pretty much going to be on an airplane if you are not here already. (Yes, some people in the land of ugly bob like soccer, but not enough with any money).

 

[copacetic]

As they say in the article, I don't see our dinky little airport coping well with an increased load.

 

[Albereth]

But do you think these people are flying other airlines? Cause why does our Airlines not know?

I know all these people are coming I just think they will fly other airlines and take the local one's for in land flights, if they need to take them. I mean we are not know for "cheap" air fairs.

Aircraft don't just rock up - they file a flight plan and they send a manifest ahead. If a airline ticket has been sold you can bet that someone here knows.

 

[R13...]

Aircraft don't just rock up - they file a flight plan and they send a manifest ahead. If a airline ticket has been sold you can bet that someone here knows.

I thought the carte blanche episode was talking about local flights not international... maybe people saw the rip off a mile off and decided to plan their matches so they won't have to do too much flying. I for one have planned my games so I won't be going anywhere I need a plane or hotel for.

 

[Mila]

Thought so too.

Two million tickets was sold in Jan!! Wow.

I was just wondering when I saw that Sunday. It seems strange. I Got the feeling SAA has the numbers and are not saying anything.

 

[Mila]

I thought the carte blanche episode was talking about local flights not international... maybe people saw the rip off a mile off and decided to plan their matches so they won't have to do too much flying. I for one have planned my games so I won't be going anywhere I need a plane or hotel for.

That is what I thought too. It is what I would have done. ( i do not do crowds it wakes the mad cow in me)
I think some people were seeing money where there never really were going to be.

 

[DigitalSoldier]

Question: I thought the tickets were all sold out and that just a few are left for the over the counter sales?

Most tickets are sold out for the decent games. If you apply now you will only be able to find tickets for useless teams

The tickets for proper matches are all sold out, at least at all the Gauteng/Rustenburg stadiums

 

[Mila]

Most tickets are sold out for the decent games. If you apply now you will only be able to find tickets for useless teams

The tickets for proper matches are all sold out, at least at all the Gauteng/Rustenburg stadiums

Oh, yes of course!! Everybody wants to see Brazil and say England, but who cares about Suid Marawakie oos.

( Soz I have no clue about any sport but F1 , so yes I do have stupid questions but if I do not ask them I'm going to say stupid things.)

 

[Albereth]

I thought the carte blanche episode was talking about local flights not international... maybe people saw the rip off a mile off and decided to plan their matches so they won't have to do too much flying. I for one have planned my games so I won't be going anywhere I need a plane or hotel for.

I wasn't talking about Carte Blanche - didn't see the programme although I read Mila's transcript. My point is that someone knows how many people are coming on the inbound flights. That hasn't been made available even though it would help people plan. I think that truth of it is that so few people (compared to the hype) are coming.

FIFA has already released tickets for the locals that were set aside for foreigners because the tickets are not selling as 'expected'. I say that because FIFA tend to hype up figures. Joe Average is going to get burned in this event.

 

[Mila]

I wasn't talking about Carte Blanche - didn't see the programme although I read Mila's transcript. My point is that someone knows how many people are coming on the inbound flights. That hasn't been made available even though it would help people plan. I think that truth of it is that so few people (compared to the hype) are coming.

FIFA has already released tickets for the locals that were set aside for foreigners because the tickets are not selling as 'expected'. I say that because FIFA tend to hype up figures. Joe Average is going to get burned in this event.

I think it's a k@k year to host the WC and unfortunately we had the luck of the draw.

I have no knowledge about soccer but I think the biggest thing that are keeping the ticket sales back is the world economy. People had a scare and are holding out on spending on things like trips.