Airlink, Southern Africa’s premier airline, will change leadership following the current CEO and Managing Director Rodger Foster's decision to step down at the end of March 2025 after almost 33 years at the company’s helm.
Airlink’s current Chief Financial Officer, de Villiers Engelbrecht, will take over from Mr Foster as the company’s new CEO effective 1 April 2025. Mr Foster will remain an airline shareholder and continue serving as a non-executive director.
Mr Foster has held the roles of CEO and Managing Director since he co-founded the company with Barrie Webb in June 1992. During that period, South Africa was experiencing a political shift, with sanctions and boycotts slowly being removed, paving the way for enhanced trade, commerce, arts, and tourism. The founding of Airlink aligned with the deregulation of South Africa's domestic airline industry, enabling private airlines to compete with the state-owned national carrier.
“It has been a privilege to have led Airlink through what has been an exciting, at times very challenging, but ultimately rewarding and fulfilling journey. However, after more than three decades in the post, it is time to hand over the flight controls to my successor and our Chief Financial Officer, de Villiers Engelbrecht,” said Mr Foster.
Mr Engelbrecht has been involved in Airlink for over 20 years, he served as a non-executive director for a period and joined as an executive in February 2011.
“de Villiers is widely respected in the industry and has worked alongside me, helping to steady Airllink, repurpose it and put the airline on a course for sustainable growth in the face of two existential threats to the company. These included Airlink’s separation from SAA due to SAA’s business rescue, followed closely by the COVID-19 travel restrictions which jolted air travel to a standstill. He has had hands-on exposure to all of the key elements that constitute the airline business and has the support of the entire executive team, the broader management as well as all our external stakeholders,” explained Mr Foster.
“Airlink is a flourishing and resilient business. It has a strong balance sheet that has been bolstered by an equity injection from Qatar Airways Group’s acquisition of a 25% stake in the company. Since 2020 Airlink has built a constellation of commercial partnerships with many of the world’s leading airlines. None of this would have been possible without the tireless support of the entire dedicated, diligent and professional Airlink team who it has been my privilege to lead,” he added.
A Brief History of Airlink
Airlink was founded in June 1992 when Foster and Webb purchased the assets and infrastructure of the financially troubled Link Airways from its administrator. With a small, diverse fleet of light commuter aircraft, Airlink aimed to provide air connections to the communities and economies of smaller South African centres that lacked convenient air services or scheduled flights. Operating from its Johannesburg base, then known as Jan Smuts International Airport, Airlink initially offered services to Pietersburg (now Polokwane), Pietermaritzburg, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit (now Mbombela), and Maseru.
AIrlink's initial year business strategy focused on expanding its route network, increasing its flight schedule, and acquiring a larger, more modern fleet of aircraft, aiming to transport 100,000 passengers, a goal it exceeded.
On 23rd March 1995, after rebranding as "SA Airlink," the airline launched a fleet of 28-seat Jetstream J41 aircraft. The first of these was presented to Mr Foster by the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, during a delivery ceremony at Grand Central Airport in Midrand near Johannesburg.
In that same year, Airlink became part of the Voyager frequent flyer program, paving the way for a franchise partnership with South African Airways and SA Express in 1997. During this period, Airlink's fleet grew with the addition of Embraer Regional Jets and BAe146 / Avro RJ quad-jets, which were later replaced by Embraer E-Jets.
In 2020, Airlink terminated its franchise agreement with SAA, returned to its original name, and rebranded to emphasize its position as a fully independent private-sector airline. By June 2020, Airlink became the first airline to restart domestic flights following the lifting of local COVID-19 travel bans. It took this opportunity to launch flights on the major Johannesburg-Cape Town and Johannesburg-Durban trunk routes, which it had not previously served. As additional travel restrictions were eased, Airlink resumed and expanded its domestic and regional route network.
Since 2020, Airlink has established commercial connections with 30 other international airlines, forming 40 commercial agreements. These include interline agreements and code-share partnerships with many of the world's most trusted and renowned airlines. This has expanded Airlink's access to global markets that were previously unreachable.
In 2022, Airlink became a franchisor to FlyNamibia. The two airlines have aligned their schedules for flights connecting Johannesburg and Cape Town with Windhoek and Walvis Bay. As part of a strategy that complements and leverages Airlink's regional presence, FlyNamibia is broadening its network beyond Namibia, aiming to position Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport as a gateway and connecting hub for travel to other Southern African destinations.
In 2023 Airlink launched its own customer loyalty rewards programme, SkyBucks.
In August 2024 Qatar Airways acquired a 25% equity stake in Airlink, marking one of the most significant foreign investments in a South African airline and a powerful endorsement of Airlink and the markets it serves.
Today Airlink’s fleet comprises over 65 modern Embraer jetliners. In the 2024 financial year (to 31 August 2024) more than 4,000,000 passengers travelled on over 85,000 Airlink flights to its 50 destinations in 15 countries including Madagascar and St Helena Island in the South Atlantic.
Airlink is an International Air Transport Association (IATA) member and accredited under its safety audit programme.
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