From the Top - Letter from the CEO – Siza Mzimela
Welcome, the Bombardier Aerospace Q400, the world’s most advanced turboprop aircraft

“The Q400 has received rave reviews from airlines operating the aircraft in North America, Europe and Australasia. We are proud to be Africa’s launch customer for the Q400, which brings us closer to our goal of becoming the feeder and regional airline with one of the youngest, most fuel-efficient fleets on the continent.

Our customers flying between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein should surely be proud of the comfort of this magnificent aircraft. And in July, those travelling between Johannesburg and George will also get to enjoy the comfort, exceptional speed and interior design of the Q400.

With the Q400s in our fleet, we will increase the frequency between these two routes. By June we will be flying 25 return flights per week (a frequency of 50) between Johannesburg and George. We will also add another flight a day between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, increasing the frequency to 53 per week.

Our new aircraft will help boost tourism. As we know, tourism encourages community pride and togetherness. Residents of many communities take special pride in welcoming visitors to their areas. These communities pull together to enhance the visitor’s experience, not only out of commercial motivation, but also out of a true sense of hospitality. This community pride and spirit of hospitality has greatly enhanced the reputation of many countries, states and local communities, and we are proud to be the carrier of choice for a vast number of people flying to prime tourist destinations like the Garden Route and Free State.

The Q400 provides a new level of capabilities and passenger comfort, and we are most excited to have added it to our fleet. In the bright and modern interior, passengers have generous legroom, there is also ample storage space above and under the seats, and thanks to its sophisticated noise and vibration suppression system, the Q400 boasts the quietest turboprop cabin in the sky.

The new interior of the Q400 features the latest noise reduction technologies, including soft-mounted interior components, sidewalls and floor panels engineered to preclude propeller resonances, and acoustically-sealed joints between interior components. On the outside, an improved propeller synchrophaser is accurate to +/-5 degrees, reducing the “beat” as the propeller blades pass by the fuselage.

The Bombardier Q400 has an interior configuration of 74 seats at a 33-inch (78cm) pitch. It has by far the lowest seat-mile costs of any regional airliner, and is the ideal aircraft for our regional hubs such as Bloemfontein and George, where the two aircraft will be utilised.

With a maximum cruise speed of 360 knots (667km/h) at 25,000 feet (7,620m), the Bombardier Q400 has the same block times as aircraft like the Boeing 737 jet on flight sectors of about 300 nautical miles (555 km), but burns less than half as much fuel.

For this reason, the Bombardier Q400 has replaced larger aircraft on many routes and successfully competes with jet-propelled aircraft on others.

It is clear that the speed, comfort and exceptional economics of the Bombardier Q400 give it a substantial economic advantage over any other aircraft in its class.

Let us enjoy the Bombardier Q400, the most efficient and cost effective regional aircraft available.
Siza