South Africa’s Nationwide Airlines Shutters; Buyers May Step In
May 01 2008 07:53 am
Beleaguered South African lowfare carrier Nationwide Airlines shut down a couple of days ago for the usual reasons (fuel, no pricing power) and an unusual reason (people questioned the company’s safety record after an engine fell off a plane). Now, sources are reporting that a couple of companies are interested in stepping in purchasing the assets. This won’t help people who have been stranded or paid with debit cards, but it would save employee jobs (always a good thing).
Low fare service in Africa is still few and far between (though South Africans have a couple of options), and high fuel costs make it that much less likely that the few remaining can survive.
