Siza Mzimela

Sizakele Petunia Mzimela, or Siza Mzimela, is credited as the first black woman to start an airline.[1] She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fly Blue Crane - a start-up airline which launched on 1 September 2015.[2] She was listed as one of Forbes magazine's most powerful women in 2011.[3]

Career history

Mzimela joined the national airline South African Airways (SAA) in January 1996 as a research analyst.[3] She then went on to work as Head of Global Sales and Voyager Programme and Chief Executive Officer from 1 April 2010 until 8 October 2012.[2][4] She has also served as the first female member of the board of governors of the International Air Transport Association, based in Miami, Florida, USA.[5]

Fly Blue Crane
Fly Blue Crane Embraer ERJ 145 at OR Tambo International Airport a couple of weeks after the launch of the airline in September 2015.

Fly Blue Crane was launched on 1 September 2015 by Mzimela and two ex-SAA colleagues, Jerome Simelane and Theunis Potgieter.[6] One year later, it has grown to employ over 100 people.[7] Mzimela said at the launch of Fly Blue Crane that she hopes to expand the airline to include routes to Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.[1]

Preceded by
Ngqula, K.		 Chief Executive Officer of South African Airways
2010-2012		 Succeeded by
Kona, V.

References
  1. Finley, Taryn (2 December 2015). "Meet Siza Mzimela, The First Black Woman To Start An Airline". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  2. "Sizakele Petunia Mzimela: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. Nsehe, Mfonobong. "The Most Powerful African Women (Part 1)". Forbes. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. "Siza loves giving the big airlines the bird | IOL".
  5. "Spotlight On The Career Of A Pioneering Female African Aviator". AFKInsider. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  6. Speckman, Asha. "Entrepreneur: Fly Blue Crane's Siza Mzimela". Financial Mail. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  7. "Meet Siza Mzimela, former SAA CEO and founder of start-up airline Fly Blue Crane". CapeTalk. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
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