L        About AASA / History & Profile

  L  History

The Airlines Association of South Africa was established in 1970. The Association was expanded and renamed Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) after the change in South Africa’s political dispensation.    
    AASA represents Members in the southern African region and Indian Ocean Islands. 
    AASA is the official regional airline association mandated to represent all the southern African airlines on the Civil Aviation Committe (CAC) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). 
    AASA is one of nine regional associations worldwide recognised and endorsed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). 

  L  Aviation Co-ordination Services

Aviation Co-ordination Services (ACS) was jointly established in 1999 by the AASA, the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa (BARSA) and the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) to provide operational support services to international and domestic airlines operating from, into and within South Africa. 

  • ACS is an initiative which is unique in the airline industry and highly effective and successful.
  • The philosophy of ACS is to undertake activities on behalf of airlines to the exclusion of third party service providers, and to provide services at cost.  
  • Current ACS activities include the following:
    • Hold Baggage Screening at ACSA international and domestic airports.
    • Baggage Management Service (or Baggage Reconciliation Service).
    • Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and Common Use Self Service (CUSS) at check-in. The cost to airlines has been significantly reduced by approximately 66%.  
    • CUTE and CUSS have been implemented at the following airports: O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, Cape Town International Airport, Port Elizabeth International Airport and King Shaka International Airport in Durban.
    • The charge for these ACS services is linked to a Security Policy, and as a result the charges are reflected separately on the airline ticket and payable by the passenger.  
    • Current savings to the airlines exceed R200-million per annum, and this is likely to exceed R300 to R400-million as services are introduced at other ACSA airports. For more information contact ACS.

  L  Meetings

AASA meets five times per year, including the hosting of an Annual General Assembly (AGA).
    The AGA is a closed event held by invitation only for AASA Airline and Associate Members, and government and industry stakeholders. Meetings are attended at CEO, Deputy CEO, or top management level, and are proactive, well attended, and successful in terms of objectives and outcomes as AASA has an aggressive approach when dealing with industry issues.

  L  Membership

There are two categories of membership:  

Airline Members: At present, there are 16 Airline Members representing the majority of airlines in SADC countries and the Indian Ocean islands.

Associate Members: At present, there are 35 Associate Members consisting of organisations with close ties to the airline industry, such as manufacturers, airport authorities, air navigation services, oil companies and other related associations.

  L  Constitution

The AASA Constitution covers any matters that affect the common interests of its Members. 
    AASA follows a strict Code of Conduct that it adheres to when representing its Members and their interests. 
    The AASA Constitution and Code of Conduct covers the following issues: legislative; regulatory; financial; aero-political; airport development; and AASA employer/ employee issues (as AASA is also an employer organisation).

  L  Management and Staff

At present, AASA employs 6 full-time staff. The reasons AASA operates with a lean structure (apart from the cost-saving to airlines) includes the following:

  • AASA makes use of committees, when required, comprising airline representatives, and quickly disbands committees that are no longer required.
  • ACS is a company in its own right with a Chief Executive and staff; and outsources specialist functions - this lean structure has proven to be cost effective and efficient.