FlySafair “Birthday Special” Feels Misleading – Fuel Surcharges Make the “Discount” Meaningless

I am extremely disappointed with FlySafair’s so-called “12th Birthday Special” promotion, and I honestly feel that the marketing around it is highly misleading.

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to win one of these birthday specials, and I paid under R50 for a return flight between East London and Cape Town. Back then, the promotion genuinely felt like a real customer appreciation event where people could access truly discounted flights.

This year, however, despite once again being selected as one of the limited “50,000 winners,” the experience was completely different. The advertised airfare itself was practically free — only R48 total for two adult tickets — but then the booking was inflated with almost R2,900 in “Taxes and Fees,” including nearly R2,000 alone under a “Dynamic Fuel Surcharge.”

At that point, the promotion becomes meaningless, because the final total ends up being almost the same price as a normal flight ticket anyway.

What frustrates me most is the contradiction in the explanation being used. FlySafair claims the increased pricing is due to fuel costs and “dynamic fuel surcharges,” yet airlines typically hedge fuel purchases well in advance specifically to protect themselves against short-term fuel volatility. This is standard industry practice. Airlines do not generally buy all fuel at daily spot-market rates. So using current fuel spikes as justification for enormous surcharge increases on a “birthday special” promotion feels extremely questionable.

Even more concerning is that the surcharge now massively outweighs the actual airfare itself. In my booking: - Base Fare: R48.00 - Taxes and Fees: R2,869.92 - Dynamic Fuel Surcharge alone: R1,952.00

That means over 98% of the total ticket cost comes from fees and surcharges rather than the advertised airfare.

Technically, this may comply with airline pricing structures, but from a customer perspective it feels deceptive. Advertising ultra-cheap birthday flights while shifting almost the entire cost into “surcharges” completely defeats the spirit of the promotion.

Consumers are not upset because taxes exist — we understand airport taxes and government charges are unavoidable. The issue is that FlySafair markets these tickets as heavily discounted specials, while the final payable amount ends up being very close to ordinary ticket pricing.

I have supported FlySafair for years and previously praised this promotion because it genuinely delivered value. Unfortunately, this year it feels more like a marketing tactic designed to generate hype and website traffic than an actual customer reward.

FlySafair should either: 1. Be more transparent upfront about the realistic final ticket pricing people can expect, or 2. Stop advertising these as ultra-cheap promotional fares when the surcharges effectively erase the discount.

Very disappointing experience compared to previous years.