Meet AirStudent

AirStudent is a comprehensive end-to-end travel management network that seeks to enhance the travel experience of students traveling between university and home by offering seamless, convenient, and affordable travel packages. AirStudent’s value is centered around their ability to connect the relevant stakeholders within their identified market and industry (primarily students, and businesses and organisations that have a large number of people traveling) to offer a seamless booking experience. They offer a more affordable travel option without compromising on quality and service credibility. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of coordinated travel, and we look to double down on our efforts of making it the norm.

THE TEAM

The brains behind the operations are Ndabenhle Ntsangase and Lwanda Shabalala. The two young entrepreneurs are UCT students who understand the struggle of having to travel between two provinces for their studies and going home.

Ndabenhle is an avid believer in adding value and strongly believes that the best way you can help someone is by giving them the tools to find their creative genius. He finds ways to have sustainable collaboration which brings the best outcomes.

Lwanda is a budding entrepreneur that intuitively sees the threads of opportunity that wind through an organization and brings them together into a whole. He helps others extend their thinking, and drives material business advantage.

THE OPPORTUNITY

As students, the team realized that they faced a problem of having to travel between home and university during their breaks, and over time the expenses started to add up. AirStudent was born as a means to help students avoid having to pay high travel costs. “While in our dorm, we realised that there was a cheaper and easier way of traveling between home and university as students in a coordinated group” states Ndabenhle. The idea was simple, "If we were to book as a large group, we would be able to get cheaper flights”. Today we leverage on the high number of students who must travel at the start/end of each term, to get the best possible prices as well as other added benefits. Students need to travel that’s an inevitable fact, so AirStudent’s aim is to make their experience better.

 LEARNING

What makes AirStudent different is that they are a group booking travel network that allows students to travel between provinces during the holidays to access cheaper flights and benefits directed at them. The team provides students with the opportunity to become part of the process AirStudent is building, by using students as affiliates for filling up groups and drivers for getting their groups from the airport to residence. This, compounded with the fact that they are headed by a team well suited for the task, gives AirStudent the edge. With everyone saying entrepreneurship is a lonely road, it is important for you to know that having solid relationships gives you the upper hand. “Do not be afraid to reach out and find help,'' advises Ndabenhle. You will be surprised at how great the people around you are, but you need to give them the chance to help you by reaching out.” The entrepreneurial road is not as lonely as it is when you have a network that elevates and empowers you.

The team’s biggest accomplishments have been on a personal level. The growth in mindset and belief in the value we can offer has made it hard to imagine a reality where we do not achieve our desired outcomes. This strong personal belief is without a doubt the greatest accomplishment because it brings with it the urge to work towards what we wish to achieve. This has informed the culture of the company and pushes the co-founders to greater heights. This culture will fill through the company even when it has 100, 1000, or even more than 10 000 people part of it, and one of the greatest accomplishments as entrepreneurs is cultivating it.

KEY THOUGHT

Our company is centered around adding value. We want everyone who uses AirStudent to end up feeling like, “Wow, I really got way more value than I bargained for”. Everyone who thinks of AirStudent should imagine high levels of value.

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Contact Airstudent via email: info@airstudent.co.za