budget travel asia

Mango is South Africa's newest low cost airline, getting its start in October 2006. It faces hefty competition from more established low-fare airlines, 1time and Kulula Air.

Mango is owned by South African Airways, and this is sometimes a point of contention among air travelers and competing airlines. Tired of losing market share to the other low cost carriers, SAA launched Mango offering starting prices for seats that were almost half that of its competition, sparking problems on two fronts.

According to Mango's reports, 15,000 booking requests were made in the first 10 minutes after the website went live.First, its website, its major base of operations, crashed as eager would-be customers overwhelmed the site to take advantage of the cut rate price.

The airline was criticised by other airlines for overcharging because it was a goverment-funded subsidiary of SAA and was funded by taxpayers. Mango didn't need to charge so much since they were subsidized, so it was believed their business policy was not fair.

Even though it had a less than stellar beginning, Mango has already reported healthy profits.

Current routes include: Johannesburg to Cape Town, Cape Town to Johannesburg, Cape Town to Durban, Durban to Cape Town, Bloemfontein to Cape Town, and Cape Town to Bloemfontein

Mango has some attractive offers for the customers with the cool-off flights in which passengers can pay only R175 to fly to Durban or Johannesburg one way. Vouchers are not acceptable as it is availble only through its websites.

The mango fleet is very safe as it is made up of Boeing B737-800. It can carry'6 guests in leather seats and the seats are arranged in two rows of three seats on either side. Travelers are informed about their seating arrangements after they check in and they can also choose the in-flight food service.

Between the age of 7 days and two years, a child may ride in the lap of the adult who flies with him. Should a child turn two before the return flight, however, a separate tickey must be bought for him.

Flights on Mango are handicapped accessible. They have many types of wheelchairs and other accommodations. Emergency rows will never be filled by physically impaired travelers or those with young children.

Pets are not allowed in the cabins on Mango's flights. The ability to transport your pet in the pressurized cargo hold is subject to availability.

Mango offers Mango Flex tickets which allow ticket holders to change the date, time and destinations of their tickets. These features apply to travel during the week, not weekend flights. Business travelers are the main participants in this program. For added flexibility for this group, Mango Plus tickets provide access to a business class lounge, 10 kg extra luggage and vouchers for meals. Customers may choose to pay for tickets by credit card, by Edgars account (adds approximately R40), cash, voucher, or POLi - internet banking and debit cards.

Mango has partnered with several other companies to offer additional discounts and conveniences. Tempest SIXT, a low-cost car hire company, offers deeper discounts for Mango customers. A partnership with Edcon gives Mango customers the option to use store credit cards to pay for their tickets. And Vodacom credit card holders can save up to 25 percent when they purchase Mango tickets on their Voadacom card.