Eswatini’s new flag carrier Eswatini Air will operate from the national capital of Mbabane to cities in South Africa including Johannesburg and Cape Town, the company said in a statement.
The flights will be operated with the newly acquired Embraer ERJ 145s and are expected to commence later in 2022.
The unveiled company logo also features the bateleur eagle, locally called the ‘ingculungculu’.
Royal Swazi National Airways ceased operations in 1999.
During a press briefing the, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RENAC Captain President Qiniso Dhlamini said Eswatini Air was now the new name of the National Airline of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the logo depicted the national carrier’s new identity.
He said the new symbol was made up of a bateleur eagle (Ingculungculu), a bird which part of Eswatini’s eco-system, known as one of Africa’s most majestic eagles and famous for its acrobatic displays and rocking in-flight stunts.
“There is no better symbol than the eagle to depict the vision and tenacity of RENAC as we branch into scheduled airline operations,” said the CEO.
Dhlamini said as an airline that hailed from the Kingdom of Eswatini whose sole motive and mandate was to uplift the socio-economic aspirations of our kingdom, the corporate colors of Eswatini Air represented the Kingdom’s national flag, underpinning the national airline status.
“Our slogan ‘Everyone must fly’ expresses our commitment towards making air travel services affordable to our people. We aim to transform flying from being a luxury into something that forms part of emaSwati’s everyday life by operating relevant routes and making the services affordable,” said Dhlamini.
He went on to add that many people currently travel between Eswatini and neighboring cities using the road involuntarily due to the absence of direct air services in some cases and also due to exorbitant air ticket prices.
“A situation whereby people spend countless hours on the road, risking their lives and losing productive time will soon be over and everyone must fly,” he said.
Dhlamini said Eswatini Air was the pride of the nation and would go a long way in facilitating trade and tourism development for the country. The initial set of planned routes comprises direct and non-stop flights linking Eswatini to Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Zimbabwe.
The company has acquired two Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft which are currently undergoing the requisite paintwork and will be ready for entry into service during the first half of the 2022 calendar year,” he said.
Dhlamini further confirmed that flight schedules showing days of operation, departure, and arrival times would be announced in due course after all government approvals were secured thereafter their flights would be made available for sale via their website, at their offices, and through travel agencies.
The CEO added that because of the services, and activities due to the addition of the fleet they would be employing in access of 40 to 50 staff members including pilots that would be added to their current staff complement.
Renac Commercial Director Xavier Masule also added that the airline activities would also result in additional purchases of goods and services in the country.
“There will be other jobs created in the service industry and normally what happens is that the number of jobs in the airline is three to four times less than what is created outside of just operations internally or within Renac which can be seen in the hospitality or tourism industry for instance,” said MasMaule
