Sakkie van den Heever
SA Express Captain & Station Manager : Cape Town

With an office that overlooks the Stellenbosch and Somerset West winelands and the typical Cape mountains, it is no wonder that Sakkie van den Heever enjoys coming to work. Add to that a view of the sun over the clouds and you have a man who wouldn’t trade his life for anything else.

Sakkie has an absolute passion for flying and hasn’t looked back since receiving his commercial licence after Matric. In 1998 he supplemented his flying job with that of Station Manager of SA Express’ Cape Town Office. Now juggling two jobs, he has added even more fulfilment to his career.

“My philosophy in life is to try and make people as happy as they can be and to enjoy what they are doing. When in the office I have an open door policy whereby everyone knows that if they have a problem they can come straight to me. I see it as a personal challenge to keep people happy and my job is the perfect platform for that. As a pilot I am able to experience everything the passengers experience first hand. I am therefore able to sort out any problems far more efficiently than I would have if I had heard it via the grapevine.”

The majority of the staff at the Cape Town office consists of crew which is what makes the branch so successful. There are currently 11 Captains, 13 First Officers and 23 Cabin Crew at the Cape Town office. However, SAX is in the process of expanding its Cape Town operation, and will eventually accommodate 78 crewmembers in total.

Sakkie admits that although it is difficult doing two jobs simultaneously, the roster is very flexible and unlike pilots who fly international routes, he is at home with his family every evening.

Flying has been in Sakkie’s family for two generations, and he hopes to make it three. Both his father and brother were pilots and his two daughters have dreams of becoming cabin attendants.

Sakkie received his private flying licence when he was still in Matric, and has accumulated over 12,500 hours of flying since then. After school he spent two years in the military after which he went to study civil drafting at the Johannesburg Technikon. “I soon found out that I wasn’t the type of person to sit in an office from nine to five. I studied for my commercial licence and started flying on a fr

eelance basis until I joined Safair in 1986, flying the Hercules C130, and I’ve been flying ever since.”
Living on a golf estate in Melkbosstrand, Cape Town, Sakkie believes that his family’s quality of life is far better than when they were living in Gauteng a few years back. “I really love living in Cape Town. There is so much to do in your free time and we have some of the best scenery in the world. We can spend weekends on wine farms, which are just a few minutes’ drive away and we have the best golf courses in South Africa. We live right next to the beach, which provides quality experiences for the kids.”

Growing up in Mpumalanga, Sakkie has had his fair share of the bushveld and admits to missing it. “Most of our family vacations as children were spent in the Kruger National Park and I have very fond memories of those trips. Whenever I get a chance in the school holidays I still take my family there to camp.”

As a pilot Sakkie has had ample opportunity to travel the world, which is something he hopes to provide for his daughters too. “I place great value on being well-travelled and working at SAX has given me great opportunities. It has really opened my mind and I’ve picked up worldly knowledge that I would not otherwise have had. It’s about seeing how the other half lives and meeting different kinds of people. It is a completely different world on the other side. I think that travelling abroad is really one thing everyone should do at least once in a lifetime.”

Even in a short conversation it quickly becomes very clear that this man has an enormous lust for life. “Going to work is a pleasure; I’m not one of those people who hate getting out of bed in the mornings and going to work. I don’t think anyone at this office is. The people at this company are very happy and content. SAX treats them well. My life has come full circle and I have achieved everything that I have set out to do, except maybe lowering my golf handicap,” he laughs.

Meeting a man so passionate about his life and career, with such perfect balance between family and work, is nothing less than inspirational, and I leave him enriched.