Expresso Jan 2015

s a e x p r e s s e m p l o y e e m a g a z i n e | j u l y 2014

Ringing in 2015

2 expresso | january 2015

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11 Letters

12 Upcoming Events

03 CEO Letter

04 Festive Giving

06 ICAD 2014

08 Gaborone Airport

10 World AIDs Day Pledges

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contents

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3expresso | january 2015

Dear colleaguesHappy New Year! This year we are turning 21; a new journey beckons

us as we dive fully into our 20/20 strategy and implement our cost-cutting initiatives. It’s time for us to go full steam ahead with our development plans in order to ensure that we have a financially stable and self-funding airline.

In the last 20 years, SA Express has made a significant impact on South Africa’s economy by connecting secondary cities and economies to the main economic hubs of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The local airline industry is envisaged to grow, with new airlines entering the growing domestic market. Undoubtedly some of these new entrants will be targeting SA Express’ passenger base.We welcome this competition because it will mean that we will need to work that much

harder to stay in the game and to remain the airline of choice for our passengers. Let us

continue to embrace our core values which include Safety First, which is a value that as an

entity we never compromise on, no matter what! We must continue to believe and ensure

that all of the customers we fly for are acknowledged as our most important investors.

As at the Quarterly Staff Updates at Head Office, Bloemfontein and, most recently, Cape

Town, I will be reaching out to all of you to provide more information about the state of our

company and the progress we are making towards stabilising our financial and operational

situation. Let us continue to work towards a stable and sustainable airline. Let’s make 2015 our best

year yet!

SincerelyInati

ceo Letter

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company news

Festive GivinG Festive GivinG In November 2014, staff members in every station were

challenged to give to a worthy cause. Head Office staff were urged to pledge and select a needy child from a list and to give them each a pair of school shoes, snacks or sweets and a motivational note. The needy children were from Sithand’izingane Care Project, a charity based in Brakpan, Gauteng.

On 11th December the CEO, Inati Ntshanga; EXCO members Dave Allanby, Kgatile Nkala and Brian van Vyk; as well as other staff members who volunteered to attend the handover, were greeted with singing from the children.

Members of the Care Centre’s board were also present and they told the story of how and why the centre was started. The centre’s manager, Thembi Aphane, was the programme director and conducted proceedings smoothly.

Four talented young ladies treated the audience to a Marimba performance, followed by three Michael Jackson impersonators dancing slickly to his music. Also part of the entertainment was a performance from a troop of gumboot dancers. Thingo from Fingo, a children’s mascot, also made an appearance which nearly caused a stampede when the children rushed to take a picture with him.

The CEO commented: “We are pleased to be making a

humble contribution towards making this day special for those children affected by the devastating pandemic of HIV/Aids. We are a caring organisation and this is part of our CSI programme to make an impact in the Ekurhuleni community. But today is not about long speeches, it’s all about the children and they should be celebrated.”

When the EXCO members read out the names of the gift recipients, the faces of the children lit up and you could see how much this really meant to them. To end off the event, there was dancing from the “Sarafina” dancers.

outstations

Walvis Bay staff members also conducted a charity drive on 11th December and spent the day with children from the Walvis Bay Kids Shelter. It was a wonderful experience and the members can be commended for their dedication to making the event a resounding success.

“We would like to thank the leadership of SA Express for this initiative and for allowing us to be part of it,” said Neil Van Wyk. He also sent a quote about true giving: “The true measure of giving is giving to someone who is in no way able to reciprocate the gift.”


company news


company news

Retshidisitswe (Tshidi) Zitha and Sanele Shongwe are two top mathematics and science Grade 12 learners who were given an opportunity through SA Express to attend the International Civil Aviation Day (ICAD) hosted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

ICAD is globally commemorated every year, on 7th December. This year, Kimberley in the Northern Cape played host to this auspicious occasion.

The two students arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on 5th December accompanied by CSI, Events and Sponsorship Co-ordinator, Boitumelo (Tumi) Tlala. This was Sanele’s first time out of his township and for both of them, it was their first time on a plane and the first time they were leaving Gauteng. They had lunch at Wimpy while waiting for their flight. As first time travellers, the two students we excited to board the SA Express plane.

Day 1: 5th December 2014

On arrival at Kimberley Airport, Tumi and the two students drove through town and headed to the Protea Hotel, located right next to Kimberley’s Big Hole. They checked-in and proceeded to their rooms. They then went on a site visit to the historical town right next to the famous Big Hole. They then had dinner with delegates from the Department of Transport, TETA and other ICAD exhibitors.


Tumi, Tshidi and Sanele had breakfast at the hotel with the other delegates and then proceeded to the airport where a mini air show took place. Later that day, two of our Cadet Pilots, Moabi Ntlhaile and Oyama Maomela, arrived at the airport to meet with Tumi and the two students. They then proceeded to the exhibition hall where various companies – ACSA, SAA, The National Defence Force, TETA, ICAO and DENEL – were showing students from the area the types of career opportunities available in aviation. Sanele and Tshidi’s interests were peaked and they learned about

bursaries and application processes for further studies. Before they proceeded to dinner Tshidi and Sanele had a swim in the Protea Hotel borehole pool.


The main day of ICAD started off with an early breakfast for the group who then proceeded to the main venue at the airport where the main air show was to take place. The students were then assigned a chaperone who took them around to the various stalls where they received goodies and pamphlets on various career opportunities. A delegation of government officials, which included Department of Transport, Deputy Minister, Sindisiwe Chikunga, were present and walked around the stalls before proceeding to the air show which included various acrobatic tricks which got everyone excited. The main event was a lunch held especially for the children from the various schools in and around the area. Speakers from various institutions and government bodies spoke about the career opportunities that are available in aviation.


The two students were fortunate enough to meet Generations actor, Patrick Shai, at breakfast and each took a picture with him. The weekend culminated with a superb flight back home on the CRJ 200.

It is these kinds of events which help students to realise their dreams and to gain perspective outside of their hometown environment. It is what SA Express CSI and Sponsorship initiatives are all about. Before the Air show and Aviation Career Exhibition, Sanele wanted to be a mining engineer. He now feels that being a pilot would be a great opportunity for him to realise his dream of touching the sky. Tshidi is determined to be a town planner but her interest in aviation is now peaked and she’ll definitely look at pursuing specific careers in the aviation field.

sa express maDe a DiFFerence at icaD 2014


company news

Gaborone


Name of station: Gaborone, Botswana (GBE)Years in operation: Since 1998 (16 years)Number of staff employed: We have a staff compliment of 28 which is made up of four people in the Sales Office in town and 24 people at the airport office.Operational functions (what happens at the station): We have two offices, one in town and one at the airport. In the town Sales Office we do reservations and ticketing. Over and above the normal airport operations of checking- in passengers, as well as receiving incoming ones, the airport office also does sales and ticketing, especially when the Sales Office in town is closed on Sundays and public holidays.What makes your station unique?GBE station is unique in that although Botswana is a very small market where everyone wants a piece of the small cake, we have remained one of the most profitable stations in the company, despite competition from two other airlines (Air Botswana & SA Airlink).What is the most challenging thing you experience at your station? Well, every station experiences some hiccups in its daily operations which also happens at GBE. We have our fair share of those days when everything seems to go wrong! Such as when flights are delayed and we end up running around looking for a Plan B, with limited other options to

choose from. It can be quite frustrating when, for example, we have to re-schedule our customer’s itineraries with costs involved like booking them into hotels, etc.What do you hope to see happening in the future for your station?I hope to see SAX continuing to be seen as the number one airline of choice in the market, which offers the most cost effective and popular flights on the Gaborone- Johannesburg route with a larger share of at least more than 60 % of the market. Also to improve on our OTP by at least achieving more than 90 % at any given time. I would also like to see us expanding our current route network with direct flights to Durban and Cape Town. With all this we will definitely be in line with the company’s vision of being a world class regional airline with an extensive footprint in Africa.Anything you’d like to tell us about your station?I have a wonderful team that is dedicated and striving by all means to adhere to the company’s core values. Obviously there are bound to be glitches here and there in the daily operations, but we strive to improve and work on areas where we fall short. I am proud to say that I have team members who have been with the company since 1998 when SAX started its operations in Botswana. I am slightly more than a year old in the company but they have made me feel like I have been working with them for many years now!

company news


company news

WorLD aiDs Day pLeDGesOn 1st December 2014, staff gathered in the Platinum Boardroom at Head Office to honour people affected

by- and infected with HIV/AIDS. Staff members in attendance sat around the boardroom table to watch different videos of people affected by this epidemic. After the viewing, staff members wrote their own pledges of support as seen below:

A.I.D.S.&THE REDRIBBON ICON

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipis -cing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo. Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. Vivamus elementum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus. Phasellus viverra nulla ut metus varius laoreet. Quisque rutrum. Aenean imperdiet. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Curabitur ullamcorper ultricies nisi. Nam eget dui. Etiam rhoncus.


Dear SA Express

We flew down to East London recently and it was one of the best flights we have had in a long

time. You have an amazing employee in Lizelle Baijnath and I believe she needs to be recognised for

her unbelievable service and attitude.

Regards

Erica Gibbons and Peter HerwegDear SA Express

The day before flying from Durban to Zambia to be with my partner, my beautiful 18 year old

daughter, Jessica, had just finished matric and her boyfriend of one-and-a-half years decided to pull

the plug on their relationship. He did it in such a nasty and ruthless way, leaving her all alone, lonely

and rejected. I didn’t want to leave her and she didn’t want me to go as we felt like the bottom of

our world had fallen out. On arriving at the airport, the ground staff were so friendly and could see that we were both

very upset and offered us both kind words of support and concern. No sooner had I boarded,

Mandy the air hostess, with her beautiful smile and wonderfully friendly nature, made me feel

so welcome on board which helped lessen the pain and guilt I was experiencing at deserting my

daughter. She went out of her way to make sure I was ok and well taken care of.

Everything ran smoothly, we left on time and as a huge bonus we arrived half an hour earlier

than expected which allowed me to contact my daughter to make sure she was ok.

I can’t wait to give her the same experience of flying with me back to Zambia in January next

year before she starts her studies at Tuks to become a psychologist. Thanks to SA Express, it’s my third trip to Zambia and it only gets better each time. I look

forward to our next trip! Kind RegardsLeora

Good day

I would just like to express my sincere gratitude for a smooth and slick flight to Cape Town

recently. This flight was a surprise from my bridesmaids, as they had planned my bachelorette party

in Cape Town! Needless to say, I was very excited! Your staff were so friendly and helpful and made

me even more excited.

Upon arriving at Bram Fischer Airport, I went straight to the counter to check in. The lady (I wish I

remembered her name) started off my flight with jokes and laughter – what a joy!

It’s not often that I am greeted in such a friendly manner when checking in for a flight. So, thank

you. Thank you for making my experience with SA Express such a fantastic one.

Regards

An Excited Bride

Letters

Upcoming events:

January 2015 Back-to-school drive31st January 2015 J&B Met23rd – 25th February 2015 Meeting Africa Tourism Conference


Expresso Jan 2015

Documents

Transcript of Expresso Jan 2015