South African budget airline 1Time cancelled all flights on November 2, 2012, and has filed for liquidation. The airline is believed to have debt over $1.85 million USD.

The following statement from CEO Blacky Komani has been posted on the official 1Time website:

“I sincerely thank our employees who worked so hard over the years to drive 1time.s business, the travel trade who have been steadfast in their support, and our passengers who carried and maintained 1time during our most difficult and trying financial times, your loyalty is appreciated.

Although 1time ceases to exist, the airline that we.ve built up through blood, sweat, tears and undeniable passion, will live on in the hearts of our passengers and also our competitors, who know that they have lost a formidable and world-class player in the low cost market.”

The 1Time fleet was grounded without any warning and left hundreds of travelers stranded.  Travelers affected by the grounding of 1Time are advised to make alternative travel arrangements.

 

1Time, the South African budget airline, has announced the resignation of CEO Rodney James. Michael Kaminski, the airline’s executive director, has also stepped down from his position.

“Mr. Kaminski will be serving his notice period up until the end of May, during which time the board will undertake the process to find a suitable replacement for him,” read the statement from 1Time.

With the search for a new CEO may come other changes for the struggling budget airline. 1Time has revealed they are considering cutting services between Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town that are not profitable, but are also looking at new destinations.

1Time, a low-cost carrier based in South Africa, will add Mombasa to its network by March 2012, following successful flights from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to Zanzibar.

The twice-a-week service to Mombasa will open the South African market for holidays at the Kenyan coast, and hoteliers have overwhelmingly welcomed the new connection, which will finally offer nonstop flights between South Africa and Kenya’s Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa, eliminating the tiring and often hassle some transfer in Nairobi.

Initially a domestic airline operating within South Africa, 1Time has widened its reach with flights to Livingstone, Zambia, Zanzibar, and now Mombasa.