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Mango Airlines SOC Ltd, trading as Mango, was a South African low-cost airline, fully owned by South African Airways (SAA) and headquartered at O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. Launched on October 30, 2006, with its first flight on November 15, 2006, Mango operated domestic routes and one international route to Zanzibar, serving seven South African cities, including Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. Known for its affordability, innovation, and vibrant branding, Mango carried millions of passengers with a fleet of Boeing 737-800s, emphasizing ergonomic seating and a buy-on-board program. Despite its success, including being named Africa’s Best Low-Cost Airline by Skytrax (2008, 2009), Mango faced financial challenges, grounding operations in July 2021 due to unpaid debts to Airports Company South Africa (ACSA). Its air service licenses were suspended in August 2022, and as of 2025, Mango remains non-operational, with no confirmed restart despite ongoing business rescue efforts.
Mango was established to compete in South Africa’s growing low-cost aviation market, benchmarking against global leaders like Ryanair and easyJet. Its launch triggered one of South Africa’s largest e-commerce events, with over 10,000 flight requests per minute in the first two days. Initial routes connected Johannesburg to Cape Town and Durban, expanding to Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, George, Lanseria, and Zanzibar by 2012. Mango introduced innovations like in-flight Wi-Fi (2012, via G-Connect), ticket sales at Shoprite/Checkers, and acceptance of Edcon store cards (e.g., Edgars/Jet) for payments, a global first. Plans to join Star Alliance as a Connecting Partner in 2016 were shelved due to SAA’s financial woes. Financial strain escalated, with a 2021 grounding over R183 million in ACSA debts. Business rescue began in July 2021, but a September 2023 Gauteng High Court ruling on Mango’s sale remains unresolved, leaving the airline dormant as of 2025.
Mango operated from its primary hub at O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), with secondary bases at Cape Town International (CPT) and King Shaka International (DUR). Its network included seven domestic routes—Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, George, Bloemfontein, and Lanseria—and one international route to Zanzibar. Popular routes like Cape Town–Johannesburg had up to 10 daily flights. Mango operated 300 weekly flights at its peak, with a 78% load factor. No codeshares were established, but SAA Voyager members could redeem miles for Mango flights, though earning miles or accessing SAA benefits like lounge access was unavailable. Cargo services were limited to passenger baggage. Mango’s on-time performance led South African domestic airlines for six years (2012–2017), averaging 90%.