Within hours of the daring flyover by two Airlink Embraer E-Jets over Cape Town Stadium last weekend, footage of the stunt had travelled far beyond South Africa, attracting international media attention and triggering widespread and heated online debate.
Airlink says the flyover was conducted within the limits approved by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), but it has withdrawn its application for a planned flyover at FNB Stadium this weekend.
Still, Airlink has secured a level of attention that no conventional marketing campaign could easily replicate.
The more interesting question is whether that attention converts into something that shows up as a boarding pass.
Using data from the Airlines 50 2026 Report, Brand Finance Africa benchmarked 16 local and international airline brands operating in South Africa on consumer perceptions and behaviours. Our data gives a clear indication of where Airlink’s commercial challenge lies: it was never being noticed.
Where Airlink sits today
Airlink ranks sixth out of 16 airlines overall, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 60.7. Its brand perceptions score is considerably stronger, at 69.4, than its customer behaviours score of 52.1.
Sixth out of 16 is a solid result in its own right. Airlink also outscores several major international carriers, including Etihad, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Qantas and Lufthansa, on overall brand strength among South African consumers.
But among the airlines it actually competes with for a domestic seat, the picture is less comfortable.
FlySafair, its closest true rival on price-accessible point-to-point domestic flying, outscores Airlink by 25 points, with an overall BSI of 85.9. Almost all of that difference sits on the behaviour side of the index rather than on brand perception.
A brand people like but don’t yet fly
The underlying numbers make the gap tangible. Airlink’s awareness among South African consumers is already 82.3%, while familiarity stands at 69.5%. Yet only 34.3% consider the brand, 18.1% say they have used it in the past 12 months and 9.8% name it as their preferred airline.
For FlySafair, the corresponding figures are 92.5% awareness, 85.2% familiarity, 56.6% consideration, 38.7% usage and 25.9% preference.
The issue is therefore not simply whether consumers know Airlink. It’s what happens after they know it.
Brand Finance’s conversion metrics show where the leakage occurs. Of those familiar with each brand, just under half of Airlink’s audience progresses to consideration, compared with two-thirds for FlySafair. Of those who consider the brand, 52.7% convert into actual usage for Airlink, compared with 68.4% for FlySafair.
Airlink is therefore losing potential customers at two critical points of the brand marketing funnel: moving from familiarity to consideration, and from converting consideration into buying a ticket.
That does not appear to be because consumers fundamentally dislike the brand; Airlink records respectable scores for reliability, reputation and likeability.
Price acceptance, however, stands out as a possible reason that conversion is not happening. Airlink scores only 2.7 out of 10 on this measure, among the lowest of the 16 airlines surveyed and far below each of its domestic peers.
The data, however, does suggest that consumers appear to associate Airlink with carrying a fare premium relative to alternatives such as FlySafair and SAA.
From viral moment to commercial value
This is what makes the flyover particularly interesting from a brand perspective.
While a spectacular event that generates international attention is valuable, attention is only the first stage of the commercial journey.
In this instance, word of mouth is the one metric where the flyover’s impact could show up quickly. Airlink’s current score of 6.6 out of 10 trails both SAA (9.2) and FlySafair (9.1), leaving meaningful headroom for a viral moment such as this to lift advocacy in the near term, even amid the controversy and safety concerns surrounding the flyover.
But word of mouth about a stunt is not the same as word of mouth about the flying experience. Brand Finance’s data suggests that this is precisely the gap Airlink has struggled to close, even when perceptions of the brand are strong.
Turning curiosity into trial and repeat usage
Airlink has created a rare window in which awareness, conversation and curiosity are all working in its favour. The opportunity now is to convert that curiosity into trial and then trial into repeat usage.
The Brand Finance data suggests that the levers that move South African travellers from consideration to actually booking are likely to extend beyond brand storytelling. Accessible pricing, visible availability and a frictionless path to purchase are key.
The flyover may therefore prove to be more than a spectacular piece of brand theatre. It has created attention. The commercial challenge is what Airlink does with it.
Sampson is the chair of Brand Finance Africa
