Pan-African low-fare airline Fastjet saw operating losses more than triple during the first six months of the year, the company reported Tuesday, revealing the scope of difficulty new CEO Nico Bezuidenhout faces in his task of orchestrating a turnaround. Fastjet’s losses increased compared with the same period a year earlier from $12.8 million to $31 million, even while revenues rose from $31.5 million to $33.1 million and passenger numbers increased 9 percent, to 398,593.

Appointed chief executive on August 1, Bezuidenhout presided over what the airline characterized as a successful fund raise of $20 million before expenses. He has also implemented a so-called stabilization plan that addresses routes, fleet, organization and “revenue initiatives.” On Tuesday he announced plans to move the company’s headquarters from London Gatwick Airport to Johannesburg in an effort to cut costs and move operations closer to home markets. The airline also plans to cull its fleet from five Airbus A319s to three, and replace the two shed Airbuses with three wet-leased Embraer E190s, an initiative it expects to cut seat capacity and trip costs by some 15 percent.

“The first six months of 2016 was a very difficult and challenging time for Fastjet,” said Bezuidenhout. “While positive developments included the launch of Fastjet flights between Harare and Johannesburg, adverse economic and trading conditions significantly impacted the company’s financial results and passenger numbers.

“As a result, my focus since being appointed has been to undertake a fundamental review of all aspects of Fastjet’s business model and operations. My immediate priority is to stabilize the business, reduce costs and ensure that we have the correct size of fleet, in terms of both number and size of aircraft.”

Bezuidenhout assumed the CEO position when disagreements over cost-cutting measures between his predecessor, Ed Winter, and Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Fastjet’s second-largest shareholder and the founder of EasyJet, led to Winter’s departure. Bezuidenhout left South African Airways low-fare subsidiary Mango to join Fastjet.