Flight Mate Leisure Travel's Vision30: Transforming Travel Booking for South Africans

Flight Mate Leisure Travel (FMLT) launches Vision30, its bold strategy to simplify how South Africans book cheap flights, local holidays, and corporate travel. CEO Kgabotuka Masekela unveils how FMLT was built for locals and why it’s set to lead Africa’s travel tech future.

Flight Mate Leisure Travel Unveils Vision30: Simplifying Travel for South Africans, Built by South Africans

In a bold move to redefine the travel experience for South Africans, Flight Mate Leisure Travel (FMLT) has unveiled its Vision30 business strategy, setting clear business and financial targets to become South Africa’s most trusted online travel booking platform. At the heart of this strategy is a mission to simplify, localize, and personalize travel for every South African.

Launched by travel entrepreneur and industry authority Kgabotuka Masekela, FMLT has quickly risen as a powerful alternative to generic global platforms. Unlike competitors that often overlook local needs, FMLT is proudly South African—designed to meet the real needs of domestic travellers, families, business professionals, and SMMEs.

“Flight Mate Leisure Travel was created to solve problems that global platforms ignored. We built this for South Africans, by South Africans. We understand local challenges—budget concerns, booking confusion, and lack of transparency. With FMLT, we’re changing all that,” says Kgabotuka Masekela, CEO and Founder.

How FMLT Is Positioning Itself in the Travel Market

Through Vision30, FMLT is leveraging cutting-edge technology and local insight to become the default platform for booking cheap flights, local flights from Johannesburg to Durban, holiday packages, and corporate travel solutions. The strategy is built around five core pillars:

1. Tailored User Experience:
   A mobile-first, user-friendly interface designed specifically for South African consumers—whether it’s a last-minute flight to Durban or a weekend break in Cape Town. 
2. Affordability and Transparency:
   FMLT compares cheap flights from all major airlines, showing real-time pricing with no hidden fees. Customers can easily bundle flights and hotels for extra savings.
3. Corporate Travel Optimization:
   Through FMLT Corporate, businesses gain access to streamlined travel management tools—designed to save time, cut costs, and offer full transparency.
4. Localized Support and Payments:
   Flexible payment options including local debit cards, EFTs, and mobile money make booking accessible for everyone.
5. Data-Driven Innovation:
   FMLT uses AI and predictive search to personalize travel recommendations, improving the user journey with every interaction.

"Our technology is intelligent, but our service is personal," says Masekela. "We believe in making travel easy, affordable, and reliable for all South Africans."

Why It Was Built and What Travellers Can Expect

FMLT was born out of frustration with the complexity and impersonal nature of mainstream platforms. South Africans needed a solution that understood their lifestyle, their destinations, and their budgets.

“We saw a huge gap. South Africans were being forced to use foreign platforms that don’t cater to our needs. I created Flight Mate Leisure Travel to bridge that gap. It’s more than a booking engine—it’s a travel partner you can trust,” says Masekela.

Travellers can look forward to:

• Booking cheap local flights in under 3 minutes.
• Access to exclusive travel deals and last-minute specials.
• 24/7 local support and a rewards program launching soon.

Where the Brand Will Be in the Next 5 Years

By 2030, FMLT aims to:

• Be South Africa’s top-ranked travel search engine.
• Expand into Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.
• Launch the Flight Mate app for instant bookings and loyalty rewards.
• Partner with more local tourism bodies to promote domestic travel.
• Serve over 10 million users annually.