Edition 34: Spring 2006
On March 10 Zambian Airways began its low-cost flights from Lusaka to Johannesburg, with inaugural flights running at full capacity. CEO Mr Don MacDonald said: “We are delighted to be able to offer the Zambian market a new a competitive choice in quick and convenient air travel between Johannesburg and Lusaka. This represents affordable air travel for all, with fares starting at only USD100 one-way.”
Flights are to be operated in conjunction with South Africa’s
kulula.com, but fully managed by Zambian Airways. They will operate
daily except Tuesdays and Saturdays, departing from Lusaka at 11.30am
and from Johannesburg at 8.30am, with a two-hour flight duration. An
MD82 aircraft with a capacity of 150 seats will fly the route.
Scottish low-cost airline, flyglobespan, is to fly from Manchester to
Cape Town three times a week, commencing November 6. Bookings are
already open on its website for flights and packages on the route.
South African Airways has introduced a twice-weekly
Johannesburg-Zanzibar service. Flights depart Jo’burg on Tuesdays at
08.45am, arriving at 13.45pm, and on Sundays leaving at 10.00am to
arrive at 14.40pm. Return flights depart on Tuesdays and Sundays at
15.40pm to arrive at 18.30pm.
Gulf Air and Nationwide plan to negotiate a codeshare agreement. Gulf
Air operates to Johannesburg thrice-weekly and a codeshare with
Nationwide would allow passengers easy access to the rest of South
Africa, including the tourist hotspots of Cape Town and Mpumalanga, as
well as Victoria Falls.
Delta Air Lines is planning to operate flights between Atlanta and
Johannesburg. Should they receive government approval, they will become
the only major US airline to operate scheduled services to South Africa
since Pan Am ended its New York-Johannesburg service in 1986. Delta
hopes to introduce the service in December, with flights going via Dakar for refuelling.
Kenya Airways will launch a service to Paris this summer. The airline is also extending its African network with
the launch of a thrice-weekly flight to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Air Senegal International has launched new twice-weekly services from the country’s old colonial city of Saint Louis to Paris. The flight complements the airline’s existing operations from Dakar to a number of French cities.
The West African carrier has also entered a partnership deal with
Belgian carrier SN Brussels Airlines to sell seats on the six weekly
flights SN offers between Dakar and Brussels.
BA/Comair has introduced a new service between Johannesburg and George, in South Africa’s ‘Garden Route’. Flights commenced on March 1 and the airline will operate the route five times weekly.
Air Mauritius will increase frequencies on its primary European route
to six times weekly from June, with plans to begin daily operations
from 2007. Passenger numbers on the route increased by almost 10% last
year, encouraging Air Mauritius to place an order for three new Airbus
A340-300 models which will be delivered within the next 18 months.
LAM Mozambique Airlines and Executive Aerospace of South Africa have stopped flying into Zimbabwe, citing lack of viability on the Harare route.
The South African and Tanzanian governments have confirmed that South
African Airways is to sell its 49% share in the East African carrier.
SAA originally paid $20 million to take a 49% stake in Air Tanzania
following its partial privatisation in 2002. SAA subsequently relaunched the carrier in March 2003 in a bid to
improve the airline’s fortunes. However, SAA’s annual report for the
year ending 31 March 2005 showed it incurred a $8.9 million loss from
its Air Tanzania holding.
|
