In the past few weeks over 70 former Nationwide Airlines staff have taken up positions at Comair.

In a statement on Thursday, Comair ? the holding company of British Airways and Kulula ? said the staff had been employed in various roles including pilots, cabin crew, airports and revenue management.

Chief executive Gidon Novick said: "We're fortunate to have the best team in the industry and we're always looking to take on additional talented and energetic people.

"We're delighted to welcome these ex-Nationwide staff onto our team."

Daniel Perry, the pilot who successfully landed the Nationwide aircraft that lost one engine in Cape Town last year, was one of the staff members recruited.

Novick said with oil prices rising there could still be further rationalisation in the local industry as there had been 24 airline failures internationally in the past few months.

"There are still tough times ahead for both airlines and airline staff. However, we're very glad that we can continue to offer career opportunities to quality airline and travel professionals," Novick said.

At the end of April, Nationwide Airlines announced that it had ceased operations due to cash-flow problems and that a black economic empowerment deal (BEE), which it had hoped would bolster the company's finances, fell through due to concerns raised in a due-diligence report.

It was placed under provisional liquidation.