SA Express Travel Agent Awards
On 24th April 1994, in the midst of the imminent watershed general elections, a new player made a low-key entry into the South African airline industry when a plane took off from Johannesburg to Kimberley. Twenty years have lapsed since that initial foray into aviation by SA Express, and to mark its two decades of existence, it hosted an awards event to acknowledge the support it receives from local travel agents.
“Since we are celebrating our 20th birthday, we thought it was logical that we acknowledge the support of the top 20 travel agents who have supported us during the financial year that ended on 31st March 2014,” explained Ms Thuli Fihla, Divisional Manger of Sales at SA Express. “Travel agents are the bedrock of our business; 78 % of our business is derived from travel agents and the remaining 22 % from direct channels. It would therefore be folly not to show our appreciation to our primary source of revenue.”
There were 18 winners out of the 20 awards that were handed out on the day, with Travel With Flair being the big winner as they scooped two of the awards.. Their first and most prestigious award was for being the overall biggest supplier of clients for SA Express, while their Cape Town branch was placed at number 15 on the list of winners. It was yet another feather in the cap for this internationally renowned travel agency whose evolution fits the narrative of a fairytale.
Travel With Flair MD, Ms. Johanna Mukoki, is a native of Soweto and was born into a family of modest means. Upon completing high school, she enrolled at Rhodes University where she read for a B.Com. degree. She then completed her articles at KPMG and Aiken & Peat. Afterwards she was made numerous well-paying offers by various accounting firms. She rejected all of these offers, opting to start her own venture instead. In 1996, she met Robert Wilke and Tibor Zsadanyi, and the trio started Travel With Flair. One of her partners’ fathers provided the R1.5 million seed capital needed to kick-start the venture, and a giant was born.
From one branch in Pretoria, Travel With Flair has now grown to having branches across the country and over 500 employees on their books. It was the first travel agency in South Africa to have SMS confirmation, e-confirmation and to email boarding passes to clients. The accolades they recently received from SA Express are an acknowledgement of their astuteness, and based on their track record, it would be safe to bet that it won’t be the last time they receive such an acknowledgement.<sidebar> Top 20 Travel Agents
1. Travel with Flair
2. Club Travel
3. TravelStart Online Travel
4. Duma Travel
5. Flight Centre
6. Tourvest Holdings
7. Nexus Travel
8. Flight Centre
9. Etravel
10. Carlson Wagonlit Travel
11. Rennies Online e-Centre
12. Tourism Investment Corp LTD
13. Wings Corporate Travel
14. Thompsons Travel
15. Travel with Flair – Cape Town
16. HRG Rennies Greenacres
17. Magic Travel
18. Aloe Travel
19. HRG Rennies KZN
20. Mitcelles Travel Agency (PTY) Ltd
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