SPEAKER

Rodger Foster

CEO and MD
Airlink

Graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) in 1978 with a BSc in Building and Architecture First job was with Metro Cash & Carry as a project manager He became a founding partner in a civil engineering and construction company from 1982 – 1992, which branched out into aviation, trading light aircraft. That company created SA Airlink, which has gone on to become the 2nd largest airline in Africa in terms of the number of aircraft it operates and the largest independent Southern African airline (measured by flight movements). Rodger has been CEO and Managing Director of Airlink since its inception in 1992. Airlink background: Airlink is a privately-owned regional airline serving a comprehensive network of smaller destinations throughout Southern Africa. It has been consistently and responsibly profitable since its inception 28 years ago. Since 2020, it has operated independently under its own unique 4Z flight code offering customers more freedom, more choices and more travel opportunities. Airlink has a fleet of more than 50 commercial jetliners. They are operated by 450 pilots and cabin crew (of whom more than 250 are women) and maintained by a team of 400 engineers, mechanics and technicians. In 2019 Airlink carried 2 million customers on more than 63 000 flights, on 55 routes to 39 destinations in nine African countries and St Helena Island. Airlink’s on time performance is consistently better than 95% and this is a clear indication of our determination and commitment to remain synonymous with customer centricity, punctuality, service excellence, and reliability. Airlink is the most on time South African airline for 2020 as measured by the Airports Company of South Africa. Airlink is a member of IATA - The International Air Transport Association and has been IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit program) accredited since 2006.