The one real pain in the neck about living on the Garden Route is always flights to the rest of the country.
They are in short supply and very costly, penance for living in this beautiful part of the country.
Flying from Plettenberg Bay has historically been a nightmare because the airport isn’t up to speed when it comes to taking larger planes and if there is mist or bad weather, planes can’t land here.
I have friends in Cape Town who have a place in Keurbooms and they have given up flying to Plett because it’s just not reliable enough.
Then there was a couple who lived in Plett and they were international architects and designers working all over SA.
They reluctantly left Plett and went back to Cape Town because of the ongoing hassles and expense of air travel here, something they needed to do on a frequent basis.
So that leaves the option of George and expensive flights, especially if you are thinking of Natal in which case it will mostly cost you two flights with a stop in Johannesburg.
Flying to Gqeberha to get to the Garden Route is cheaper, but by the time you have added the time and the cost of transport to this air fare, you may just as well have flown to and from George.
It was announced in October this year that Garden Route Aero (GRA) is involved in significant progress in the refurbishment of the Plett airport runway.
Following the issue of the licence by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to GRA earlier in 2024, work on the runway refurbishment has moved beyond the initial groundwork phase into detailed engineering assessments.
Garden Route Aero says the detailed survey of the runway and associated areas has already been completed.
More specialised geotechnical work needs to be done and final engineering assessments need to be made, and quite possibly a whole new runway is needed.
While every effort is being made to complete the planning and engineering assessments by the end of this year, the actual remedial works are scheduled to begin in 2025, GRA says.
In the meantime, operations at Plettenberg Bay Airport will remain limited to private flights, with commercial airlines, such as CemAir, unable to resume operations until the runway upgrades are completed.
The airport currently has a Category 2 Licence, but once it meets all operational and safety standards, it will attain a Category 5 Licence and commercial flights will again be able to use it.
But, in the meantime, with the busy season coming up, hero to the rescue of Garden Route folk is newcomer Cape Winelands-based Air du Cap.
It is anticipated it will be operating and open for business and leisure travellers flying to Plettenberg Bay from Cape Town and surrounds in the middle of November, any day now.
Air du Cap owner Will Mellor says he has been working on getting its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the CAA for 2½ years.
As soon as it is issued, this tiny airline will start flights to Plett and this part of the world, along with smaller airports in the rest of the country.
Air du Cap will be flying regularly from Cape Winelands Airport, which is only 30 minutes from Cape Town’s CBD, direct to Plett which is music to the ears of many who can afford it.
It will cost about R30,000 for their Beechcraft Baron Aircraft which takes five people or R24,746 to charter their Cessna 182 which takes three people.
The price is for the whole aircraft which means that each person is paying about R6,000 for a one-way ticket and the direct flight to Plett is only one hour and 20 minutes.
Air du Cap is the only charter operator in South Africa with an instant online booking engine and it says flying with Air du Cap means skipping the hassle of long drives and taking advantage of the many smaller airports scattered across the country, often overlooked by commercial airlines.
Its primary charter aircraft is the Beechcraft Baron 58, fitted with stitched leather seating, full air-conditioning, high-speed device charging, Bose noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones and a gleaming exterior.
And what’s very appealing is the flexibility of this option because a family or friends can simply book a private flight at the drop of a hat, so to speak.
And I guess there’s nothing stopping a couple from paying the full charter fee if money isn’t an issue.
The airline will be using sophisticated avionics to allow the aircraft to land safely in overcast weather.
Oh, and needless to say, drinks and snacks are included as is an exclusive Melville & Moon amenity bag — I googled it and it’s swanky.
“Because Air du Cap is a charter airline, we fly when you want to fly. We can fly every day of the week between Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay if there is a demand,” Mellor said.
Glance at their booking engine (Click CHARTER at airducap.com) and it’s quite surprising how many small towns have an airstrip and are to be serviced by Air du Cap.
Mellor is a private pilot and has been flying for 10 years.
“As a family, we have had numerous adventures throughout SA and wanted to share this experience and accessible lifestyle with other people.
“I’m an entrepreneur from Cape Town with a degree in marketing.”
He and his wife, Samantha, also have a restaurant in Newlands called Café du Cap and other businesses with the du Cap label.
Mellor bought his first plane, a Cessna 182, four years ago.
“We have been on amazing adventures with our kids in the Cessna.
“From visits to our farm (Cabine du Cap) in the Klein Karoo, to stays at game farms and holidays in Plettenberg Bay and Addo.
“Every time we went on an adventure, I would make it easier for the family.
“I added a lounge to my hangar, a coffee machine, a heater, fridge etc.
“I also learnt to go to the hangar before the family so everything was ready for take-off when they arrived.
“Doing preflight checks with two kids running around is not recommended,” Mellor said.
Friends and family started asking Mellor to fly them which gave him the idea of finding a gap in the market for smaller planes and routes to small towns in the country.
“It is a very long process to get approval to start a charter company — a massive amount of work, dealing with the department of labour and then the CAA (who have been fantastic),” and now it’s lift-off time any day now, he said.
Mellor said there had already been a lot of enthusiasm for flights to the Garden Route from Cape Town on the Beechcraft Baron.
A flight to Graaff-Reinet will cost R39,831 (1:45 flight time), Calvinia will be R19,209 (55-minute flight), Stilbaai will cost R17,905 (50-minute flight), Springbok is R33,870 (1:26 flight time) Bloemfontein is R55,489 (2:45 flight time), Colesburg is R45,355 (2:05 flight time) and Prince Albert R21,537.
George is on the cards and so is Mossel Bay and Kenton-On-Sea.
Any day now, Air du Cap will start taking payment to secure bookings, but in the meantime, there was already a demand, Mellor said.
The cherry on the top is that this airline is not only pet friendly, but it offers, in cahoots with chommies.com, a free exclusive Air du Cap leash for pooch passengers.
To book, go to the website: www.airducap.com
