Mango claims SA first with flight-booking app, plans to launch more soon

Traveling in South Africa may have become a little bit easier following the launch of Mango’s mobile booking application.

The budget airline’s app allows you to book and manage flight details via your phone as well as change flights. It also provides you with regular updates and flight information, along with promotions and specials.

The launch of a smartphone app is a natural progression from the airline’s mobi site, which has been active since October 2012.

The decision to launch on iOS first makes sense too. Of the 30 000 flight queries Mango has received via the mobi-site, 60% were done from Apple devices.

Mango claims that feedback on the site has been quite positive. CEO Nico Bezuidenhout also reckons there’s massive growth potential in the space:

The response to the launch of our mobi-site last year indicated the growing need for mobile accessibility. With the exceptionally high penetration of mobile technology in South Africa as well as increased in bandwidth and the proliferation of ancillary devices such as tablets, we anticipate access by a new market segment of approximately four million new customers.

Mango was also the first South African airline to introduce in-flight Wi-Fi in 2012. In August that year, it expanded that service to include free access to Facebook and Twitter.

While the app is only available on iOS at the moment, Mango says it plans to roll it out to other mobile platforms in the near future.