Bearing fruit: Is Mango Airlines about to make a comeback?
With Mango Airlines in the final stages of “concluding a transaction with a selected investor,” the South African budget carrier could be about to return to the skies.
Mango Airlines confirmed in a statement on 4 June that it is “currently in the final stages of concluding a transaction that will help restart operations.”
According to a report in Southern Africa’s travelnews, the investor is Ubuntu Air Services – a collaboration between South African tour operator, AfricaStay, and DG Capital.
However, business rescue practitioner, Sipho Sono, which is overseeing Mango’s transaction, has said investor details have not yet officially been released. Sono also said timelines for the restart of the budget carrier have not been finalised.
Mango Airlines is refunding tickets from 2021
The airline, which began operations as a subsidiary of South African Airways (SAA) in 2006, ceased operations in 2021, following mounting debt and government stakeholder financial support withdrawal. But with a new investor potentially on board, Mango Airlines could make a triumphant return.
The investor will be purchasing Mango’s intellectual property, the brand and the airline’s loyal customer base. SAA is expected to receive a nominal payment from the sale.
As part of the restructuring process, Mango is currently working to confirm unflown tickets and vouchers that were purchased but not used after operations were suspended in 2021.
Mango is asking passengers that paid in full for a ticket but were unable to fly due to Mango’s suspension of operations to verify their ticket purchase on its website. The airline’s verification portal will close on 1 September, 2025.
If the impending deal with the investor is successful, then affected passengers will receive a voucher equivalent to the value of their unused ticket. They will be able to redeem this voucher “when Mango resumes flights.”
However, if the investor transaction is unsuccessful, tickets will be treated as a creditor claim in business rescue with payouts covering a portion of the total ticket value.
There are exclusions for the verification process, including those that purchased a ticket but did not fly when Mango was operating, i.e. before 26 July 2021.
Similarly, people who have already been refunded by their credit cart provider, bank, travel agent or another third party are not eligible for Mango’s verification system.
Mango Airlines: Past to present
Having launched at the end of October 2006 and first taken to the skies on 15 November that same year, Mango’s launch marked one of the largest e-commerce events at the time with more than 10,000 flight requests clocked per minute during the first two days.
Operating domestic air links across South Africa the carrier also operated flights between Johannesburg and Zanzibar. Mango was regularly credited for its on-time performance and affordable fares.
It operated a fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft and was the first African airline to offer on-board WiFi and payments via its mobile app.
Mango entered business rescue in June 2021, suspending operations on the 27th of that month. In 2023 Sipho Sono took legal action against the Department of Public Enterprises, South African Airways, the minister of Finance, the International Air Services Council and the Air Services Licensing Council, with the aim of securing approval to sell Mango outright to an investor.
The court ruled in Sono’s favour with Mango engaged in a lengthy process to secure new investment and resume operations ever since.
The return of the low-cost carrier will be welcomed by both passengers and competitors. When Mango ceased operations in 2021, its downfall increased strain on other carriers with reduced competition. This in turn led to a spike in ticket prices due to reduced seat availability on popular domestic routes.
Mango’s return to the skies could once again see more affordable fares and increased competition.
