The outgoing CEO of Airlink reflects on being at the helm of the airline for nearly 33 years and how it has managed to survive SA's volatile aviation industry.

At least 40 airlines in South Africa have collapsed since 1992 -- a transformative period during which the country's aviation industry was rapidly deregulated by the post-apartheid government to make it easy for competitors to enter and exit.

In South Africa's skies, there was once Avia, Nationwide, Flitestar, 1time Airline, Sun Air, Fly Blue Crane, Interlink Airlines, Velvet Sky, Skywise, Kulula.com, Mango Airlines and SA Express.

These airlines and many others are now defunct, forced to shut their doors after failed restructuring and rehabilitation attempts. They couldn't keep up with the air travel industry, which closely mirrors the state of the economy (during an economic downturn, travel volumes tend to become depressed).

The industry guzzles a lot of capital while profit margins are wafer-thin, and is intensely regulated and competitive (airfare price wars have been seen in South Africa). Even investment doyen Warren Buffett is not prepared to pour money into airlines and their stocks because the industry is volatile.

And yet Airlink, a privately owned regional airline in South Africa that traditionally flew in underserved towns, has survived while many around it have crashed and burnt. "When you count the number of peers that have failed, it's a horrific...