Nationwide Airlines (South Africa) Grounded for Safety Violations
November 30 2007 09:01 am
(Maybe I should just turn this site into an African aviation news thingy…)
South African carrier Nationwide Airlines has been shut down by government authorities after it ignored warnings to improve its maintenance processes. Nationwide offers low fares to a bunch of cities in South Africa and Livingstone, Zambia, (gateway to Victoria Falls). If (somehow) you were scheduled to fly on them, other airlines are accomodating passengers. This is actually a really good sign - many African countries (hello Nigeria) have waited until airlines suffer a crash before declaring them unsafe.
Godfrey Cunningham on 03 Dec 2007 at 8:35 am #
I would like to know who is responsible for refunding the persons who had booked and paid already? Can one make a claim against the airline or the government
Lorrie on 20 Jan 2008 at 7:48 am #
I have been waiting patiently for 2 refunds from Nationwide Airlines since Dec. 2, 2007 and haven’t received a refund yet even though I have sent numerous costly FAXes and emails. My travel insurance company says they will not reimburse me because Nationwide has told me that they will refund what I paid (all together over $1,077.00 USD) Has anyone received a refund yet and what can I do if I don’t? Can I make my Travel Insurance Company or my credit card company liable if I don’t receive a refund from Nationwide Airlines? Any help would be appreciated.
Ryan Doyle on 30 Apr 2008 at 5:15 am #
I am due to fly to SA on holiday as well as to attend a wedding in Durban. I have spent over £2300.00 (pounds!!!) for my flights only to discover that the airline has gone into voluntary liquidation!
If anybody has any advice on how to get my money back or to make a claim against the airline, your assitance would be greatly appreciated. I am currently living in London and i can be emailed on:-
doyler@hamptons-int.com.
Many thanks.
Ryan
David Kirk on 01 May 2008 at 6:51 am #
I believe customers are owed around R71m. Nationwide apparently has less than R50m in assets. So it’s not surprising they haven’t been keen to make refund payments. The R71m of money “loaned” by customers has been all that has kept them operating for a while now.
I doubt very much that the government will (or should) get involved to reimburse customers. I’ve commented on my blog about some of the underlying economic causes of Nationwide’s collapse.
Hannah on 03 May 2008 at 1:08 am #
Ryan, you’ve probably already found this information but to make a claim with the liquidation company you’ll need to email them at tshwanetrust@intekom.co.za marked for the attention of Michelle du Plessis or Alta van Wyk. They should reply with a claim form.
Unfortunately it looks like there’s little chance of getting much money back this way so would be best to take the issue up with your bank if you paid by card.
Good luck!
Karen Putter on 02 Jun 2008 at 1:13 am #
We all are very, but very disappointed in Nationwide’s disappearance. Why I call it that is, the customers that are left behind, demands a refund but it seems like they’ve disappeared from the face of the earth.
I’ve filled out a refund form and faxed everything through on the 2nd of May 2008 and a month down the line I’ve still heard nothing from them, I don’t know about the rest of us but I’m really getting sick of nobody responding and everybody ignoring us!!
Thank you Hannah for the e-mail, I’ve send a request to them.
If anybody came upon something to speed up this agonizing wait for a refund please please let me know at karenp@hcmsa.co.za
Regards.