Siza Mzimela
Sizakele Petunia Mzimela, known as Siza Mzimela, is credited as the first black woman to start an airline. She is the founder and Chief executive officer of Fly Blue Crane, a start-up airline which launched on 1 September 2015. She was listed as one of "Forbes" magazine's most powerful women in 2011. Career. Mzimela joined the South African Airways (SAA) national airline in January 1996 as a research analyst. She subsequently headed global sales and SAA's Voyager loyalty programme, serving as CEO from 1 April 2010 until 8 October 2012. She has also served as  the first female member of the board of governors of the International Air Transport Association, based in Miami, Florida, USA. She was appointed interim CEO of South African Express in April 2017, which was forced into business rescue on 28 April 2020 by its creditors. On 1 April 2020, Mzimela joined Transnet as CEO of its freight rail division. She is currently the Vice President of SARA (Southern Africa Railways Association) Fly Blue Crane. Fly Blue Crane was launched on 1 September 2015 by Mzimela and two ex-SAA colleagues, Jerome Simelane and Theunis Potgieter. One year later, it has  grown to employ over 100 people. Mzimela said at the launch of Fly Blue Crane that she hopes to expand the airline to include routes to Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fly Blue Crane became insolvent in 2016; operations were suspended on 3 February 2017.