"Since Skywise commenced its commercial flights on the 11th of February 2015, we have always strived to provide value by offering world-class safety standards, affordable airfares, reliable on-time performance, and courteous, professional service. We are therefore very disappointed that our revised flight schedule will be letting some of our passengers down and for this, we apologise sincerely," says Tabassum A. Qadir, President of Skywise Airlines. "All passengers who are negatively affected by the schedule change will be contacted by our customer service agents to either accommodate them on alternative flights or to help them claim a full refund."
Alternatively, affected passengers can visit the airline's website and indicate their preferred option of rebooking or being refunded.
"It is unfortunate that a misunderstanding of payment terms between Skywise and our main service providers, Air Traffic and Navigation Systems (ATNS) and Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), grounded six of our flights last week. We assure our customers and other stakeholders that we have made the necessary changes in our processes in order to safeguard future travel reliability. We have since signed a new agreement with both parties and we can assure our passengers that this matter has now been rectified and that they won't see a repeat of this mistake," continues Qadir.
In compensation for the six affected flights last week, Skywise again appeals to those passengers who have not claimed their vouchers or refunds to get in touch with the airline's customer care line on 086 1989 895 as soon as possible to rectify the situation.
"This incident was really an unfortunate one and one that could have been avoided through better and clearer communication between all parties involved. The biggest lesson that we have taken from this is that we can never disappoint our passengers again."
Skywise has to date carried around 250 000 passengers, in over 1 200 uninterrupted flights, and is grateful for this valuable support.
"We assure our passengers that Skywise remains committed to being transparent in all our stakeholder dealings and to operating a sustainable airline that will continue to provide a reliable service and a cost effective solution.
"We look forward to your continued patronage and the privilege of serving your air travel needs again soon," explains Qadir.
