Though new airlines in SA usually manage to take off, very few of them actually cruise, and most have a hard landing.
FlySafair got off the ground quickly, turning a profit within two years of starting low-cost domestic flights. And the carrier grew passenger numbers 40% to 3-million last year despite a flagging economy.
"We have been profitable for the last three years, and well profitable," CEO Elmar Conradie told Business Times.
Weak economic growth is part of the business's expansion story - much in the way fashion shoppers trade down from emporiums and boutiques to the likes of Mr Price and Pep during a downturn.
"When people start counting their cents they tend to favour low-cost [over] full-service airlines," said Conradie, who has been at the helm for four years.
Though there are many moving parts in the market for domestic flights, Conradie said his airline did mop up some of the demand after financially distressed SAA cut back on capacity.
Competitor Comair hauled 5.8-million passengers last year, up 4% on the previous year, its latest annual report shows. The company does not disclose how many of them were on low-cost carrier Kulula.
"Looking at schedules and bookings, we will grow by another 40% this year," said Conradie. These numbers buck the trend in an industry that saw the demise of 1time, Skywise and Velvet Sky in just the past decade, and several other carriers in the decade before that.
Obviously the basics need to be done right. That includes strict cost control, operational efficiency and plenty of bums on seats. Conradie has not followed the conventional wisdom of sticking with flights in the so-called "golden triangle" - Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. The only "major" domestic destination FlySafair does not service is Bloemfontein.
But with margins in the industry notoriously thin, innovation is vital to squeeze a bit extra through to the bottom line.
FlySafair introduced domestic travellers to payments for baggage. Whereas low-cost operators elsewhere, the likes of easyJet and Ryanair, have for years charged passengers separately for checked-in baggage, your 20kg suitcase was still very much included in the ticket price in SA until 2014.
"At the start it was a challenge as the South African public was used to having baggage included. So, it was a bit of a learning curve," Conradie said.
But behaviour changes with incentives - or disincentives - and passengers soon caught on that they would pay for checking in luggage, and pay a bit more if they made that decision only at the airport counter.
The result? Only about 30% to 40% of FlySafair's passengers check in luggage. And those who have until now been sneaking through with overweight, bulging carry-ons will soon be disincentivised from chancing it, as Conradie has plans to start taking payment at the boarding gate. And boarding passes will soon be available on WhatsApp.
FlySafair has been operating only since 2014, but it has its roots in Safair, a charter company established more than 50 years ago. Management owns about half the company and the rest is split between an employee trust as its BEE partner and foreign investor ASL Aviation.
Safair has broadened its business into freight and airlift services on the rest of the continent, notably for DHL and UN agencies such as the World Food Programme. It also has an aircraft maintenance operation, which initially served other airlines, but now focuses on Safair's own planes.
The low-cost passenger airline, started with two aircraft five years ago, now dominates the business. It has grown to a fleet of 14 passenger planes and accounts for 90% of company profits. The original business, however, still provides an important shock absorber. As with all local airlines, the oil price and value of the rand are the biggest risks. FlySafair does not take out forward cover on the fuel price or the exchange rate.
"We have a natural hedge as our business into the rest of Africa is mostly a dollar-earner," said Conradie. Deeper into the future, he wants to take FlySafair's passenger flight model beyond SA's borders...