Fastjet CEO mulls South Africa as new market for expansion

Fastjet is considering expanding in South Africa as new CEO Nico Bezuidenhout evaluates growth opportunities for the unprofitable discount airline and says the continent’s most industrialized economy is too big to stay out of. While the Africa-focused carrier already connects Johannesburg with its hubs in Tanzania and Zimbabwe, it has no internal services in South Africa. The market “cannot be ignored,” Bezuidenhout, 40, said in Johannesburg, where he’s relocating Fastjet’s headquarters from London after joining the company in August. Bezuidenhout is starting to identify growth opportunities after beginning a fleet overhaul and cutting weaker routes to reduce costs and stem losses at Fastjet, which he anticipates will break even at a cash-flow level from Q4 2017. The carrier hasn’t made an annual profit since it was started in 2012. The CEO previously ran Johannesburg-based budget carrier Mango Airlines for 10 years and had spells as head of its state-owned parent South African Airways. Bezuidenhout said he’d like to make progress in South Africa next year, though Fastjet would have to comply with regulations that cap foreign ownership of the country’s airlines at 25%. <br/>