Realising there were many students who needed to fly between their university campuses and homes, Ndabenhle Ntshangase decided he could get an airline to give a group of students travelling to and from Cape Town a discount. From this idea, he now runs a travel management company looking to secure group discounts for students.
The founder of AirStudent started the business alongside his colleague Lwanda Shabalala in 2017 while they were students at the University of Cape Town.
AirStudent is a travel management network that seeks to enhance the travel experience of students who require air travel, by offering seamless, convenient, and affordable travel packages. Through AirStudent, travellers can get up to 30% discounts on their flights.
Ntshangase said after seeing familiar faces on flights every time he went home, he approached the students and suggested they travel in a group.
“We tried it out and it worked, so we stayed in touch. We could communicate and travel together. At the time it was about convenience and safety, but the group grew. Then I realised we could turn it into a business.”
Ntshangase created a group chat to facilitate the people travelling together. Students found the idea so appealing that the number of people in the group quickly multiplied.
Realising that this could benefit students in other ways, Ntshangase reached out to the now-defunct airline, Kulula, and inquired about group discounts.
He used a website to find the CEO’s contact details and sent an email to “test the waters” and got a response. The CEO referred him to the head of sales who wasn’t too interested in the idea but eventually referred him to someone else.
After he showed up at the regional manager’s office without an appointment, the company finally agreed to give the travel groups discounts and allow them a free bag on the flight. News quickly spread throughout the university and the number of students interested in the discounted rates grew to 2,000.
“We initially had 17 people travel in groups and after this deal, the group chat went to more than 300 people in two days. The students were super happy to be part of something like this. They saw value in in travelling together. The numbers in the group chat translated to people that were travelling, with 95% booking as part of the groups.”
However, Ntshangase found that this would not be feasible in the long term as a business, as students only travelled four months in the year. This prompted him to reach out to corporates to help with their group travel needs.
Cash flow became a major challenge. He also found it difficult to convince other airlines to adopt the concept.
“I don’t think we’ve overcome this yet because we still get asked if we know what we are doing because we are so young and haven’t been in business for too long. But the numbers speak for themselves,” he said.
We tend to have students come in for six months for some experience and they help us during the busy seasons.
— Ndabenhle Ntshangase, founder of AirStudent
In 2021 the company received a cash injection from E-Squared investments, boosting the business to expand its offerings. Ntshangase said this was much needed as the Covid pandemic had crippled AirStudent.
Since launching in 2017, the company has grown to offer discounted deals for business travellers and those attending major events. Ntshangase said the largest group they had successfully booked travel for involved 800 people travelling between Johannesburg and Cape Town.
AirStudent has forged partnerships with all domestic airlines in the country and some international carriers. It has also partnered with organisations such as the Allan Grey Orbis Foundation and the medical aid scheme Platinum Health.
Last year, AirStudent partnered with Lyft airlines to offer a 30% discount to people travelling to Rocking the Daisies, an annual music festival held in Cape Town.
The business employs five people, with additional temporary staff added when necessary.
“We tend to have students come in for six months for some experience and they help us during the busy seasons,” he said.
Looking at the future of AirStudent, Ntshangase said the goal was to grow its footprint in the corporate travel space, but without neglecting the students. International expansion is also part of longer term plans.
His team is also considering changing the name to be more accommodating, especially to corporate clients, he said.
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