1Time passengers left stranded

 Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded after low cost airline 1-Time was grounded.Many peoplehave been forced to make expensive alternative arrangements to reach their destinations.All theairline'sflights were grounded yesterday after the airline liquidated yesterday.It has bee saidthat the airline ows various Institutuions including the Airports Company of South Africa,(ACSA) around R350 MILLION.The airlines last flightwas at15:00pm yesterday afternon. 

 

ACSA says that they have been contacting passengers booked on 1-Time flights  to help them make alternative arrangements.It says that the decision by 1-Time airline to file for liquidation andground all it'sflights was sadand regrettable.

 

Yesterday Nedbank said that Cardholders that purchased tickets frrom 1-Time using a credit card branded with a Visa,Mastercard,or an American Express Logo may contact their issuing bank for what is known as a chargeback.

 

A chargeback is a reversal of a transaction because the goods or services were not provided by the merchant.Cardholders should raise a chargeback within 60 days to allow enough time for Nedbank to validate the chargeback before we submit it to the aquirer.

 

DISCOUNTED FLIGHTS

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said that South African Airways (SAA) must offer discounted flights to the stranded 1-Time passengers.As the long-time beneficiary of generous government support... SAA should do everything it can to assist 1Time passengers, and we strongly encourage them to offer discounted flight options to stranded 1Time travellers," DA MP Natasha Michael said in a statement.

 

Shesaid the liquidation proved that Private Airlines could not compete with their State-Funded counterparts."Does every privately funded domestic airline have to shut down before government admits that the funding model for the national carrier is killing the aviation industry?" Michael asked.

Comair chief executive Erik Venter said 10 out of 11 private airlines launched in South Africa since the industry was deregulated in 1991 had failed. "Due to the less efficient fleet it operated, the ultimate closure of 1Time was inevitable," he said in a statement.

"However, we are certain that in the absence of State-subsidised Mango, 1Time would have made adequate profits to upgrade its fleet and be sustainable over the long term."

He said Comair would have to put up resistance to "unfair competition" from SAA and Mango. "This is not new to us... we have been dealing with this for most of our history."

Mango chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout said the airline regretted the liquidation. "While we may have been competitors, the liquidation of 1Time is not good news. Not only does it impact the families of employees but also thousands of people with confirmed travel across the country and the aviation sector as a whole," Bezuidenhout said.

"Everyone at Mango's hearts go out to our friends and industry colleagues at 1Time." - Additional reporting by Sapa

Saturday-3RD Of November 2012