SA’s First Black Female-Owned Airline Launches Its First International Flight
South African businesswoman and former CEO of South African Airways, Sizakele Mzimela was the first woman named on the board of the International Air Transport Association in its 71-year history. She has made history by becoming the first Black woman to own an airline. South Africa-based Fly Blue Crane, the first airline started by a black woman, is about to launch its first international flight less than a year after the airline’s September inauguration.
The airline will begin flying May 13 between Cape Town and Windhoek. Fares will be around $103 one way. Until now, flights were offered internally in South Africa between Johannesburg, Cape Town, Kimberley and Bloemfontein, News24 reported.
In 2015, Fly Blue Crane applied for rights to operate flights to Swaziland and Mozambique, according to FlightGlobal.
Fly Blue Crane is backed by Pretoria-based aviation consultancy, Blue Crane Aviation. Directors include Mzimela (holding a 70 percent stake in the airline), General Manager Theunis Potgieter (with a 20 percent stake) and former SAA Head of Revenue Planning Jerome Simelane (with a 10 percent stake), according to the CentreforAviation.
Mzimela is a veteran and pioneer in African aviation with 20 years of experience in executive leadership roles, according to a RunwaygirlNetwork interview. Sizakele Mzimela is the co-founder, CEO and majority shareholder of Fly Blue Crane.
In addition to being the former CEO of South African Airways and regional SA Express, she was chairwoman of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) and the Airlines Association of Africa (AASA).
