Kulula, a subsidiary of Comair Airways Limited of South Africa, is a low-cost airline based in Bonaero Park, South Africa. Kulula has been operating its green and white fleet of planes since 2001 and offers flights to various locations in South Africa, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The name Kulula is a Zulu word, meaning "it is light" or "it is simple."
Comair Airways Limited, which has been operating in South Africa since 1946, made a decision at the turn of the 21st century to start a new, low-cost airline. In July 2001, Comair realized its dream by establishing Kulula. Initially, Kulula offered daily flights between Cape Town and Johannesburg only. Durban was added to the Kulula itinerary later in 2001. Today, Kulula includes 12 destinations in its flight route schedule.
In its company mission statement, Kulula declares, "We help people lighten up." True to its declaration, Kulula quickly developed a reputation for flight crews who dispensed humor and jokes as well as beverages and snacks. Kulula advertisements, too, continue to feature humor.
Some of Kulula's intentionally humorous advertisements have caused some controversy. In 2010, for example, just prior to soccer's World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in South Africa, Kulula created an advertisement in which the airline dubbed itself "the unofficial national carrier of the you-know-what." Charged by FIFA, the governing body of the World Cup, with creating a non-sanctioned association with the international sporting event, Kulula agreed to withdraw its advertisements.
SouthAfrica.to points out that Kulula has become South Africa's largest online retailer. Since 2008, Kulula has offered online shoppers a wide range of options in addition to simply booking flights. "Kulula Air" is a feature that allows customers to book rental cars, hotels and taxis. "Kulula Travel" can be used to reserve holiday packages. "Kulula Connect" offers cell phone and wireless Internet deals to Kulula customers. Kulula has also formed a partnership with the online florist, Netflorist, to offer its customers anniversary and birthday reminders.
Since 2008, Kulula has responded to global environmental concerns by creating the "Project Green" program in cooperation with the South African nonprofit organization, Food and Trees for Africa. As an active partner in Project Green, Kulula's goal is to plant more trees throughout South Africa while it gradually redesigns its fleet of planes to become more environmentally friendly.
Kulula was South Africa's first low-cost airline. Since Kulula's inaugural year of 2001, a number of competitors in the low-cost airline market have materialized. Among these competitors are 1time Airlines, Airlink, Interlink, Mango, South African Airways and South African Express.
Kulula's parent company, Comair Airways Limited, is also the owner and operator of South African British Airways. Comair Airways Limited, which has been based in South Africa since its 1946 inception, is in no way affiliated with the U.S. company, Comair Airlines. Comair Airlines, which is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines and has been operating since 1977.
