Cape Town Car Hire

Article from http://www.businessday.co.za/

Low-cost airlines face off in new fares battle
Khulu Phasiwe

Public Policy Correspondent

THE price war between SA’s low-cost carriers has stepped up a gear, with newcomer Mango offering 10000 seats between Johannesburg and the major coastal destinations for less than R250 a trip.

Mango, which was launched in November, offers one-way tickets between Johannesburg and Durban for R197 and R249 for Johannesburg to Cape Town.

Customers have until next Monday to make bookings, and all discounted tickets must be used this month.

In a bid to counter Mango’s offer, SA’s second-largest no-frills airline, 1time, on Friday announced its “New Year’s special” ticket sale on the same routes.

The airline said its one-way tickets between Johannesburg and Durban would cost R189, while a one-way trip between Johannesburg and Cape Town would cost R239. Their special fares are also valid only until the end of the month.

Although the no-frills market leader kulula.com has not formally announced new fares, its website showed that its “bargain” prices for the same period were R168 a trip between Johannesburg and Durban.

A one-way trip between Johannesburg and Cape Town costs R248.

Although analysts said such low prices were indicative of how affordable air travel could be, they have warned that they cannot be sustained.

The Association of South African Travel Agents (Asata), which represents more than 500 travel agents and tour operators, said: “What we are seeing now with the price war is exactly what happened when 1time entered the market (in February 2004) — it is short-term in nature and not sustainable.”

The association said it was inevitable that Mango would soon have to increase its prices to avoid operating at a loss.

However, Mango CEO Nico Bezuidenhout said the company would keep its operating costs down by using four “fuel-efficient” Boeing 737-800s leased from SAA. The aircraft consumed 10% less fuel than other models. Mango also had only 289 employees, including managers, and most sales were made online or by telephone.

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Article from http://www.businessday.co.za/

MEC gives consent for Green Point rezoning
Chris van Gass

Cape Correspondent

CAPE TOWN — Western Cape planning MEC Tasneem Essop has given the go-ahead for the rezoning of Green Point Common in preparation for the building of the city’s 2010 Fifa World Cup soccer stadium.

All that remains now is for the city council to pass a resolution to give consent use to the building of the R2,5bn stadium. It is expected to do this when it sits again on January 17.

This will be followed by a 21-day objection period after which Essop will make her final pronouncement, clearing the way for construction to start within the first quarter of this year — a Fifa local organising committee requirement.

Essop’s decision on Friday has put plans for the 68000-seater stadium, which will host a semi-final match, back on track following a stand-off with the city council, which had asked her to make a decision on consent use, something she maintained was not her competence.

Essop said that while the city had conceded that it had erred legally in asking her to make the decision on consent use of the land, this controversy now had to be put aside. What was needed was to concentrate on the “bigger picture” of getting the stadium built, with its broader national and international benefits.

Essop said her decision upheld her department’s earlier decision, clearing the way for the stadium after changing the zoning from “public open space” to “community facilities use”.

Her decision contains “certain variations” that limit the height of the stadium and address aspects of its “visual impact”. A range of noise mitigation measures will also be added, along with conditions for roads, transport and parking.

The development will not set a precedent for future commercial development of the common, which will retain its “green lung” status.

A key variation is that the city will now have to compile site development plans for a new urban park for the 2010 tournament.

Essop will now set in motion a six-month public participation process to gather input from Cape Town residents.

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Cape Town
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cape Town, Kaapstad, iKapa

Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad /; Xhosa: iKapa) is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. Cape Town is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Often regarded as one of the world's most beautiful cities because of its geography, Cape Town is the most popular South African destination for tourism.

Cape Town originally developed as a victualling station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and Asia more than 200 years before the advent of the Suez Canal in 1869. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in sub-Saharan Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope. It was the largest city in South Africa until the growth of Johannesburg and Durban.

According to the 2001 Census, the city has a population of 2.9 million.[1] Cape Town's land area of 2,499 square kilometres (965 sq mi) is larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of 1,158 people per square kilometre (2,999/sq mi).[1] Cape Town is town twinned with Nice in France.