Page 42 - World Airnews Magazine December 2019 Edition

PERSONALITY PERSONALITY
CORNER CORNER

The company hopes in the future to add a

LIFT OFF AGAIN: Dash 8 to their fleet. frame, avionics and instrument support. attractive option for an investor.”

He said realistically to start an airline now
“We only outsource specialised tasks

PLETTEBURG BAY AND KATHU such as engine heavy maintenance and unit you would need a nine figure investment
and then have to face the prospect of a price
repairs on avionics. Our facility is for the
A MOMENT WITH MILES CemAir have operated to Kuruman and support of the operation. We don’t under- war with a state funded entity. “This is very

Sishen for more than 18 months now. This

service is almost exclusively used by business take third party maintenance work.” unattractive indeed. One hopes that these
operators will eventually be forced to stand
World Airnews recently caught up with Miles van der travellers as the Northern Cape is booming AVIATION SECTOR IN SA on their own two feet and for market forces
with mining activity. The flights operate

Molen. Following their renewed aircraft operating weekdays with no service on weekends. “Airshows such as the Margate show where and customer choice to dictate their route net-
we met are so valuable and it’s at these
works. At this point the prospect for success
They launched Plettenberg Bay at the end

certificates from the SACAA, the CEO of CemAir has of March 2014. As the winter months are low times the seeds of aviation dreams are for a new entrant will be greatly improved he
sown,” he said. Event such as these help
said.

promised to resume flights to popular destinations in the season, Cem Air has seen an uptake of inter- to share the wonder of aviation with the CHARTER

est more recently and a great deal of interest

country and hinted there might be more in the making for flights towards the end of the year. The public and encourage participation, he said. Charter is, in Mile’s view, an industry of

“And the more people that participate
service operates twice a week and there is almost infinite variation in its requirements

the option of an onward flight to Cape Town the bigger the sector will get. It’s as simple
based products so CemAir was the logical and launches for their scheduled network. as that. KZN is leading the way and the for speed, range, capacity and mission type.

name for the aviation offshoot. “Sadly we He is not type rated on the CRJ as yet. on some of these. Miles is expecting this sec- province and the municipalities are actively “As we have restricted our fleet to two

iles said he grew up on airfields. lost Brian in an accident in 2008 so our tor to be popular with foreign travellers. promoting aviation, these initiatives are aircraft types, and don’t act a broker, we

MHis parents started fl ying connection to the sister company is no AIRCRAFT In March 2015 the Johannesburg-Bloem- beneficial to the sector in the long term.” have a limited product to offer the market.

microlights when he was years old so pretty longer but the name remains, “said Miles. The Beech 1900 was an aircraft Miles fontein route was launched using a CRJ Compared to most countries South Africa We therefore have chosen to market our

200 - where they go head to head with SA

much every weekend thereafter he was at MARGATE ROUTE always admired. “It just seemed to be the Express – it is doing well. has a vibrant general aviation sector particu- capacity to the larger and more reputable

an airfield of some description. Throughout right mix of speed utility and size for our larly at the NTCA level, said Miles. “This mar- charter companies and brokers, giving

his school years his interest in aviation grew Miles said that the Margate route has shown environment,” he said. MAINTENANCE ket is cost sensitive an any cost reduction them a dependable and non-competi-

and in Matric he completed his PPL. During consistent growth since its launch. “From the “Being a popular choice and well support- “In house maintenance is an absolute ne- will be rewarded with growth,” he said. tive solution when their customer has a
outset we planned on a two year period to

his tertiary education he completed his com- establish the route and we are on track with ed it was a great choice as a young compa- cessity for our operation,” Miles said. With “There is no gentle way of stating this. The requirement for which our equipment is

mercial licence and started a small charter this plan. In order to build confidence in the ny entering the market,” he said. their aircraft spread out over many locations commercial aviation sector is dominated by suitable,” he said.

When he saw an advert for the auc-

company based out of Rand Airport. service we operated all flights even when tion of the last three Beech 1900’s from across the continent the maintenance and the obvious state owned operators. This has Charter in South Africa has always been

CEM AIR passenger loads were very low,” he said. the Rossair liquidation he knew this was logistics support is a core activity. distorted the industry and with ever increasing a very cyclical industry and therefore in

barriers to entry from regulatory requirements
Cem Air has comprehensive capabilities
the interests of sustainability they limit our
“We have aggressively increased our
CemAir’s roots were in a partnership which schedule to create a regular and convenient the opportunity the company had been for the types they operate including air- to capital, a start-up airline is becoming a less reliance on this line of business. Q

purchased a Cessna Caravan in 2001 for a service for our customers,” he said. waiting for.
lease in Tanzania. Over the next few years Miles flies himself and has a SA and US “Once established in the 1900 market

they bought, lease and sold several aircraft we looked at which aircraft type we would
but in early 2006 when we purchased the ATP with around 4000 hours. acquire next. We evaluated several types in

last three Beech 1900C’s from the Rossair “I fly the 1900’s but mostly for ferry and various seating classes and eventually short-

liquidation the enterprise became a little test flights, only occasionally on commer- listed the CRJ and its very capable sister the

large to operate as a partnership and it was cial flights,” he said. Dash 8. The CRJ was chosen because Miles

time to formalise it as a company. Miles He has a Piper Malibu Jetprop which he believed that the range and speed advantag-

equity partner, Brian Bendall owned and ran flies for personal use, for the occasional out es would make it a more suitable aircraft for

Cemcrete, a company specialising in cement of town crew change, to attend meetings the African environment.
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Miles van der Molen in the flight deck of one of his

BE 1900Ds at Margate with the aircraft on the apron
World Airnews | December 2019 World Airnews | December 2019
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