South Africa’s favourite low-cost airline celebrates another birthday with its eagerly anticipated flight sale. The annual event will see FlySafair drop its ticket price to R11 a seat, airport tax included.
This rock-bottom price marks the low-cost carrier’s 11th year of operations and will be applied to 50 000 one-way tickets across its domestic routes. Departure dates for the mega sale’s flights are for travel up to 30 November 2025. The festivities kick off at 9am on 7 May 2025 and will continue until all 50 000 tickets are sold.
“It always feels good to say we’re back again for another mega sale,” says Kirby Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair. “There is so much that goes on behind the scenes when it comes to planning and executing this event each year. And while it can be incredibly stressful, it’s ultimately so rewarding to see the response to the sale. Over the years, we’ve heard heartfelt stories from passengers who have been able to take a long-awaited trip, surprise a loved one or simply fly for the first time.”
For S’thandiwe Mdiniso, the sale gave her the chance to board her first plane. “I woke up very early that morning and I remember I even recruited my friends to try their luck. I had my laptop ready and my card details too, in case luck was on my side. When the website let me in to start the booking process, I was beyond excited because that meant I was finally going to have my first flight at the age of 20.”
Mdiniso was so eager to experience flying for the first time, she even arrived at the airport five hours before boarding.
Pierre Grobler picked up a R9 ticket for his daughter for a memorable homecoming. “My daughter relocated to Cape Town just after COVID in 2020. She lost her job and we missed one another terribly. We got her a ticket, and how special it was as we could surprise my wife as she flew home for Mother’s Day weekend.”
Social media platform X has been a popular place for excited customers to post about their experiences of the sale. While there are some that question the legitimacy of the sale, others share their success in nabbing the highly sought-after sale tickets.
“Super happy to be one of the #FlySafairLuckyR10Winner yesterday. Wish it could be @FlySafair birthday every day,” said @khanx_.
“I gotta do it right this time, thank you #FlySafairLuckyR0Winner #FlySafair for the amazing deal! @FlySafair,” said @Celestialloomie.
To avoid technical difficulties, FlySafair has adopted a number of measures over the years. This has included beefing up its website capabilities to handle the site traffic, as well as introducing a waiting room in 2016. This year, customers can enter FlySafair’s Win Free Flights for a Year competition and play a game called Flappy Plane while they wait for the chance to browse the sale.
“The waiting room helps to manage the traffic to the website, while also giving everyone a fair chance to access the sale,” says Gordon. “The waiting room works like a lottery and will allow people access randomly. So some people might only wait a few minutes to get in, while others may wait longer. It all depends on when you’re selected to enter.”
Revona Omarpersad was a patient customer who spent a fair bit of time in the waiting room before accessing the sale. “I had purchased three return tickets when FlySafair had the R9 sale. I had to wait four hours to get onto the site. It was crazy but it was worth the wait.”
While R11 tickets are limited to just 50 000 seats, customers can also take part in FlySafair’s 30% off sale that will be running concurrently on the website and FlySafair app. Unlike the R11 sale, which is only available on the FlySafair website, the 30% off sale is also available on the app, running right through to midnight. The 30% off sale will be for all domestic routes and for travel up to 28 March 2026.
