At South Africa Travel Online our readers are our writers! Email us a write-up of your Mango flight and we'll email you a travel voucher to discount the next flight you book with SouthAfrica.TO (if you're not sure what to write, just let us know why you chose to fly Mango and how your flight was).
NEWS: Mango has applied for rights to fly scheduled Zanzibar flights
Don't get a shock when you see a bright orange aircraft - it's Mango's colours and whilst a mango might not be the fastest fruit, orange planes fly just as well as purple aircraft! To book a cheap Mango flight use the comparison tool on the left to contrast airfares and then use SouthAfrica.TO travel vouchers you've earned to discount the fare.
Mango flight reviews
20 May 2013. My name is Vasagie Pather. I have made many flight bookings with Mango for myself, my two daughters Valencia and Valonia Pather since January 2013. I must say the airline is prompt if sometimes, earlier with departures and arrivals. In April 2013 my daughter Valencia took a flight from Johannesburg to Durban, in really bad weather conditions in Durban, with the pilots excellent decisions, they flew back to Johannesburg, refuelled, waited for better results of Durbans weather and then approximately 2 hours later arrived at Durban airport. My daughter was safe and happy with family. Many thanks to Mango Airlines.
May 2013. Vanessa didn't enjoy her first flight ever (she doesn't say which airline it was on), but gave a very upbeat report on her second flight, which was on a Mango plane. The staff were chirpy for that early in the morning, and their friendly greeting set Vanessa at ease. The only scary part was hitting some turbulence and "I just closed my eyes and grabbed hubby's hand but other than that it was really a better flight experience for me than my first one". See full details at Vanessa's review of a Mango Cape Town to Durban flight.
22 April 2013. "My first time on a plane was in 2011, in December, It was the best Christmas present from my grandmother. She bought Mango return tickets for us and accompanied me to Cape Town. I had an interview at Cape Peninsula University of Technology with the Head of Department. We packed our bags and headed to JHB OR Tambo airport, I was going through mixed emotions. It was my first time heading on a plane and my Gran was telling me about her experiences when she flew. We checked in and not long after that we boarded, I was very nervous and didn't know what to expect. We got on the plane, the air hostess and pilots welcomed us and we took off. I held my Grandmother's hand tightly to calm my nerves. I sat by the window and was looking down at all the beauty of SA, the ground looked exactly like the aerial views we would see in our Geography maps in High School. Within 2hours we were in the Mother City, welcomed by the beautiful Cape Airport. I passed the interview and was accepted to study at CPUT, my gran was so proud and I was grateful that all was going well. Four days past and we flew back home, this time I acted all calm and cool because I knew what to expect. Ever since then, I havn't flown again, as my grandparents can't afford it, so during school holidays I take a bus home, which is 18 hours. I would be honored to earn a travel voucher to assist me in flying down home in June and celebrating my birthday with my family." Bongiwe
5 January 2013. In a touching account, Natalie describes how Mango Airline heroes helped her avert disaster, by finding her missing brown envelope (which contained items vital to her trip), and she ended her flight with tears of joy.
7 Apr 2011: On our Mango Durban flight, for the first time we booked Mango Plus, which was a good thing, as one of our bags weighed 29kg
30 Aug 2011: Our Mango Lanseria to Cape Town flight was a pleasure - the cherry on top being that for the first time ever an airline employee stopped to help us pick up our luggage.
9 Aug 2007: Review of a Mango Airlines flight . We conclude that we will rather pay R100 extra and fly one of the other South African Low Cost Carriers, as Mango Airlines is simply too uncomfortable.
(This is not an offer, but merely information which has been extracted by an independent party). All airfares listed here 1-way.
JNB-CPT
HLA-CPT
JNB-DUR
JNB-PLZ
CPT-BFN
CPT-DUR
CPT-PLZ
25 May 2013. Planning ahead: Scholars return to school in 2014 on the 15th January (all provinces). So, let's assume that the rush to get back from vacation begins on the previous weekend, and have a look at flight prices on Sunday the 11th January 2014. We can see that airfares are already elevated for that date on all routes.
R1333
R937
R753
R1238
no flights
R1397
no flights
The above is the latest Mango sale (we also have a list of all Mango Airlines specials). Unless you're booking on the early morning of the date of this special (Mango sales sometimes start at 00h01!), it's likely that it's sold out and prices have changed.
10 - 11 May 2013. Mango Airlines is at the Swartkops Air Show hosting an aviation career day.
Mango WiFi
Vodacom has partnered with G-Connect to provide the service. All their planes are now WiFi equipped. The system uses satellite-based connectivity to offer speeds of up to 4Mbps.
"In a highly competitive market where everything tastes like chicken, it's important to taste like beef. Innovation is a cornerstone of our business along with sustained affordable fares that are relative to the prevailing market." said Mr Nico Bezuidenhout, Chief Executive of Mango Airlines.
20 Aug 2012
Mango's CEO updates us on their wifi:
August 2012
Mango Airlines offers a 50% discount on its WiFi facilities on the Cape Town - Johannesburg flight route, and also offers Facebook & Twitter for free (bar video uploads). Nico Bezuidenhout, the Chief Executive of Mango Airlines said that “Uptake of in-flight Wi-Fi has been phenomenal. Approximately 8% of all Guests on enabled aircraft are online during flight at this time. This is in line with global usage benchmarks. Discounting usage as we approach the end of the beta phase as well as opening up social media at no cost should drive increased adoption of the service.”
Mango Airline flight reservations
Phone (inside SA)
Call centre (outside SA)
General enquiries
Online bookings
086 100 1234
(individuals & groups smaller than 10)
Mango Airlines are able to assign someone to assist at the airport. Mango have on board storage for wheelchairs, but it is limited for each flight, and so travellers should call 011-086-6100 to reserve one for their booking.
Mango Airlines humour
Legendary MSC Sinfonia stand up comedian, Stephen Cloete, on Mango Airlines: "Now we've got Mango Airlines, gosh who thought of the name Mango for an airline - not the world's fastest fruit is it. But I tell you what I would love to see that one in Afrikaans - Veselperskelugdiens."
Mango Flex & Mango Plus
In addition to their standard economy class tickets, Mango offers Mango Flex tickets which allow holders to change the date, time and destinations of their tickets. For those passengers wanting even more, Mango Plus tickets also allow holders to utilise a business class lounge, 10kg extra luggage, and vouchers for "free" meals. We have found that Mango Flex tickets are sometimes cheaper than standard Mango Airlines tickets.
Mango Airlines' fleet
Mango Airline leases six B737-800 aircraft from its parent company, South African Airways (South African Airways, in turn, leases the aircraft from a leasing company, Gecas, which owns the aircraft).
Boeing 737-800
6
Boeing 737-800
Capacity
189
Engines
CFMI CFM56-7
Cruise Speed
900 km/h
Length
39.5 meters
Wingspan
35.8 meters
Paying for a Mango flights
There are 5 ways of paying for Mango flights:
by credit card
by Edgars account - check whether it costs extra
by cash payment
by voucher
POLi - internet banking and debit cards (you must have subscribed to online banking at your bank to take advantage of this).
By phone - use the Blackberry 10. app
There are booking facilities for Mango flights all Shoprite, Checkers and Checkers Hyper Money Market Kiosks in South Africa.
Owned by South Africa's government
Other South African airlines like Kulula.com are upset about the fact that Mango airlines is owned by SAA which in turn is owned by South Africa's government, and therefore using tax which is inter alia generated by its competitors (e.g. Kulula airlines) to finance its operations.
Mango Airlines' starting capital
South Africa's Mango Airline was loaned R100m by SAA to cover starting costs and for working capital. When asked about the loan, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin sad: "This information is commercially sensitive and accordingly the information can only be provided in the context of the SAA financial statement and with regard to Mango’s financial statements at the end of the financial year."
Logo
Mango Airline's logo ends with the letter "O" comprising a circle surrounded by 3 rings and dots around it, which is coincidentally similar to the logo of the fictional accident-prone airline used in the TV series "Lost", called "Oceanic Airlines".
Mango airways financial details
Enterprise Name: TULCA (PTY) LTD
Enterprise Number: 2006/018129/07
Enterprise Type: Private Company Last Type Date: 2006.06.12
Enterprise Status: Code 03 - In Business
Registration Date: 2006.06.12
Date Commenced: 2006.06.12
Industry Code: Code 65 - No Description
Tax Number: 9499780154
Year End: February
Effective Date: 2006.06.12
Authorised Capital: 1000 Authorised Shares: 1000
Issued Capital: 120 Issued Shares: 120
Registered Address: MEZZANINE LEVEL, DOMESTIC DEPARTMENT TERMINAL, JOHANNESBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, 1627
Postal Address: MEZZANINE LEVEL, DOMESTIC DEPARTMENT TERMINAL, JOHANNESBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, 1627
Director Name: NICO BEZUIDENHOUT
Director Type: Director Date Appointed: 2006.07.20
Director Status: Active Last Status Date:
ID Number: 7608105247087 ID Number Status: VALID (not verified)
Director Share: 0.00 % Birth Date: 1976.08.10
CM 29 Date: 2006.07.20 CM 29 Received:
CK 1-2 Date:
Business Address: MEZZANINE LEVEL,, DOMESTIC DEPARTURE TERMINAL,
JOHANNESBURG INTERNATIONAL, AIRPORT, 1627
Postal Address: 11 CHILVERS ROAD, MORNING HILL, JOHANNESBURG, 2000
Residential Addr: 11 CHILVERS ROAD, MORNING HILL, JOHANNESBURG, 2000
Private Company details published electronically by CIPRO during August 2006
Director details published electronically by CIPRO during July 2006
Financial details published electronically by CIPRO during August 2006
Address details published electronically by CIPRO during August 2006
Mango Do-It-Yourself Check-In
With Mango's DIY Check-In you can select your seat, and leave your baggage at the drop-off counter at the airport. Note that:
Online check-in opens 24 hrs prior to flight departure & closes 3 hrs prior to flight departure
Bookings made within 24 hrs of flight departure cannot use online check-in
Travellers must print out their Boarding Pass
Travellers must confirm the relevant Gate Number
Travellers must have valid Identification ready at time of boarding
Travellers with check-in luggage must report to the drop off desk one hour before flight departure
Carry-on baggage may not exceed one piece of 7kg and not exceed 115cm in dimension
Travellers must present the credit card used to make the booking, at the boarding gate - failure to do so will result in travel being denied.
Landing at Cape Town International Airport
Here's a simulated landing of a Mango Airlines plane at Cape Town International Airport:
Jobs at Mango airlines
If you're looking to apply for a job at Mango airlines, drop your CV off at Johannesburg or Cape Town airport. You can call Mango HR at 011 978 1773.
Passengers have a free baggage allowance up 20kg, and infants up to 10kg. One piece of carry-on luggage is allowed per passenger and may not be larger than 55cm x 40cm x 20 cm or weigh more than 7kg.
Mango airlines is a low cost airline operating in South Africa (the only other one is Kulula Airlines). It is a subsidiary of South African Airways (SAA), a state-owned carrier. Mango's first flight was on the 15th November 2006, from Johannesburg to Cape Town.