LIFT (airline)

LIFT is a South African airline, based in Cape Town. LIFT currently offers domestic routes from a hub at O. R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, using a fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft that are operated by Global Airways.^[1]

LIFT

IATA ICAO Call sign GE[1] GBB[1] GLOBE[1]
Founded	2020
Commenced operations	10 December 2020; 4 years ago (2020-12-10)
Hubs	O. R. Tambo International Airport[1]
Fleet size	6[citation needed]
Destinations	3[1][2]
Parent company	Global Airways
Headquarters	Cape Town, South Africa
Key people	Gidon Novick (Co-Founder) Jonathan Ayache (Co-Founder)
Website	www.lift.co.za

History

LIFT was established in October 2020 and commenced operations on December 10, 2020. LIFT is a joint venture between former Comair CEO Gidon Novick, former Uber executive Jonathan Ayache, and Global Airways,^{[citation needed]} a South African-based ACMI specialist that operates Airbus A320 & A340 aircraft. Other founder investors include entrepreneurs Rael Levitt^[3] and Alon Apteker.^[4]

The name LIFT was selected after the public were invited to name the airline in a social media campaign.^[5][6][7] LIFT Airline was selected after being submitted by eight contestants, who agreed to share the main prize of free flights for a year.^[8] Their names are inscribed on the body of the first three aircraft in the fleet. The airline's name was revealed on October 29, 2020.^[9][10][8]

Destinations

As of August 2023, Lift serves the following scheduled destinations:^[2][1]

Country	City	Airport	Notes	Refs
South Africa	Cape Town	Cape Town International Airport		[2]
	Durban	King Shaka International Airport		[11][2]
	George	George Airport	Terminated
	Johannesburg	O. R. Tambo International Airport	Hub	[2]

Fleet

As of August 2023, the LIFT fleet consists of six Airbus A320 aircraft:

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers			Notes	Refs
			C	Y	Total
Airbus A320-200	6	1	12	150	162	operated by Global Airways
Total	6	1	—

See also

• Airlink, a South African regional airline.
• South African Airways, Flag national carrier of South Africa.
• FlySafair, a South African low-cost airline.