Fireblade Aviation, the private aviation and charter company established by the Oppenheimer family, is soaring on a rising wave of demand for luxury charter services — and is kicking itself for not doing even better.
Fireblade MD Leigh Kretzschmar told journalists this week that private aviation has mushroomed over the past three or four years and the company, which operates a private terminal at OR Tambo International Airport, was battling to cope with demand.
“We are at a point where demand is outstripping supply. Private aviation globally has skyrocketed, and there is demand for aircraft. I don’t think we have tapped into growing demand as much as we ought to.”
Kretzschmar said tourism and hospitality, driven particularly by travellers from the Middle East and Asia, was the main factor boosting demand for private aviation services.
“Tourism is a big market for us. International tourists are coming to South Africa to experience the bush life that we have to offer. Given that time is such a precious commodity, they do not want to spend six hours driving when we can fly them directly.”
In addition to private charter flights, Fireblade Aviation offers such services as aircraft maintenance, pilot amenities and passenger immigration processing.
Founded by the Oppenheimer family, Fireblade is marking its 10th year since being born out of the previous Anglo American flight department in 2014.
Two years later the then home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba declared he had not given the Oppenheimer family permission to offer customs and immigration services at OR Tambo. In the ensuing legal battle, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Gigaba’s bid to overturn his decision to let Fireblade operate its private VIP terminal. Nicky Oppenheimer, addressing MPs in November 2018, accused Gigaba of having lied during the dispute.
Kretzschmar said customs and immigration can be painful for tourists, especially when they have to wait in long queues, and Fireblade was trying to eliminate that frustration.
“If you are flying private, that is the pain you are trying to remove; that is what you pay for. By having customs and immigration, that is an added benefit we are trying to give our customers.”
Kretzschmar, who has been MD for three years, said Fireblade was pivoting from being “a passion project” to providing a world-class service and expanding to meet a growing market need.
[Private aviation] is such an enabler to tourism, it is an enabler to business. For me, it is a key part of building a wider economy that we desperately need. So much of Africa is difficult to get to and it is time-consuming
— Leigh Kretzschmar, Fireblade MD
“The vision has been moved to say that the phenomenal service, be it for our maintenance and flying services, is expanded and we can turn it into a sustainable business. If we take the same quality and high standard of service and provide it to other people, through that we can grow this legacy,” she said.
Fireblade Aviation operates planes to fly tourists to lodges and luxury bush destinations across the country and elsewhere on the continent. Its fleet includes helicopters.
Among its contracts have been charter flights for heads of state when South Africa hosted the Brics summit in Sandton in 2023, and ferrying the Springboks around the country on their victory parade after they won the Rugby World Cup.
“We have moved heads of state and celebrities, but there was more excitement from my team with the Springboks than any of the celebrities and heads of state,” Kretzschmar said.
To a certain extent, Fireblade has been a casualty of its own success. The company’s aircraft were working harder than ever, she said, which meant maintenance schedules — based on flying hours — churned more quickly.
“Now that aircraft are flying more hours, they need more maintenance and there is a shortage of parts around the world. It is making the cost of maintenance so much higher, not just from procuring the parts, but also because the time to get those parts is longer. The time your aircraft spends on the ground because it does not have the parts is also longer, and when it’s on the ground it is not earning money.”
Private aviation was a key component for economic growth, and deserved greater recognition, Kretzschmar said.
“It is such an enabler to tourism, it is an enabler to business. For me, it is a key part of building a wider economy that we desperately need. So much of Africa is difficult to get to and it is time-consuming.”
She said the industry suffered from misconceptions. “I don’t think it is at all fully understood; the relative affordability, that there are not as many barriers to entry to charter an aircraft.”
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