kulula.com, sometimes simply referred to as kulula (a word that hails from the languages of Zulu and Xhosa, meaning “It’s easy”), is a no-frills airline based in South Africa. It is operational on major domestic routes that journey from OR Tambo International Airport as well as Lanseria International Airport, both of which are just outside Johannesburg.
kulala.com headquarters are situated at Bonaero Park, Gauteng.
The Airline’s History:
The airline was set up in July 2001 and began as the original “no-frills” carrier in South Africa in August of the same year. The aim was to situate kulula.com not merely as branded airline, but also to include facilities such as taking payments for bookings and make the entire travel experience a whole lot more affordable. In essence, it was to be South Africa’s first budget airline.
More latterly, in mid-2012, the airline made the announcement that it would be operating the first Boeing 737-800s, the first new airliner of seven in all, and with a further two to be operational by the end of the year. Four more were to be dispatched during 2015 and 2016.
Airline Ownership:
Rather than being a distinct company, kulala.com is a trade name under Comair. Comair also services flights under the franchise of British Airways.
Trends for Business:
Though kulala.com does not separately disclose their operational and financial results, instead, they are incorporated within Comair’s yearly results which are available annually from June 30.
Destinations:
From June 2013 kulula.com served the foregoing destinations, all of which are in South Africa:
Johannesburg:
OR Tambo International Airport Hub
Lanseria International Airport Hub
East London: East London Airport
Durban: King Shaka International Airport Focus city
Cape Town: Cape Town International Airport Focus city
George: George Airport
The kulala.com Fleet:
As of January 2016, the kulula.com fleet was made up of the aircraft listed below:
kulula Fleet Total Aircraft Number of Passenger Capacity per Aircraft
Boeing 737-400 1 162
Boeing 737-800 10 186
Kulala.com Environmentally Friendly Focus:
The Boeing 737 fleet provide more fuel efficiency and also additional legroom for passengers, and is more environmentally friendly overall than the previous kulala.com fleet – the MD82. The aircraft utilizes 26 percent less fuel than the MD82.