FlySafair is making an aggressive entrance into the Harare – Johannesburg route

FlySafair is a new entrant on the Harare - Joburg Route, one of the more popular routes in Zimbabwe. What they have done is try and undercut the market with aggressive pricing for their tickets. In essence, the cost of flying the Harare - Joburg Route is close to the cost of the same route by bus.

The numbers

According to OAG, the Harare - Johannesburg route is the second most popular route behind Harare - London. In 2022 there were 28,915 flights from Harare to Johannesburg which amounts to 79 flights a day. In the past 5 years, South African Airways (SAA) has the largest market share on the Harare - Johannesburg route, followed by Air Zimbabwe.

FlySafair is promising one-way tickets for R1,200 (US$65) or return tickets for R2,400 (US$105) with the competition averaging at least double that. Over the past 5 years, the average price for airline tickets for the Harare - Joburg route has been steadily rising from the lowest point of around US$450 in 2019, a price brought down due to COVID travel restrictions, all the way to about US$560 in 2023, an increase of over US$100.

	Air Zimbabwe	South African Airways	Fastjet	Airlink	FlySafair
Hre - JHB (one way)	$230	$162.50	$160	$156	$105
Hre - JHB (round trip)	$385	$322	$293.42	$242.40	$157
Baggage allowance	23kg	30kg	30kg	30kg	20kg
Excess baggage cost	$5/kg	$45/bag	$10/kg	$6/kg	$13/bag

Looking at the price comparisons above, FlySafair is offering the most affordable rates after all the necessary fees and taxes have been included. Some airlines like Fastejet will advertise their fare for the trip at $130 but with an asterisk and the caveat being it is just the airfare excluding other mandatory fees and taxes. Once those are added, it's right in the mix with the rest of the existing airlines.