South African Air: To Improve Flights To Africa

South African Airways (SAA) said it plans to focus on growing its African network and improving interconnectivity on the continent.

“Our goal is to increase our revenue in the region by 30% in the next twelve months,” CEO Nico Bezuidenhout told attendees at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Miami. “Africa is a huge potential market for aviation, and as Africa’s legacy airline, we want to see the continent contribute to more than the current 3% of global aviation.”

SAA is already strengthening its position in West Africa with the launch of service between Accra, Ghana, and Washington’s Dulles Airport. Starting Aug. 3, SAA will be providing the only nonstop flight between Ghana and Washington.

SAA also has entered into a bilateral code share agreement with Africa World Airlines. This airline partnership will offer SAA customers from Washington and Johannesburg seamless connectivity via Accra to other destinations in Ghana, such as Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale as well as to Lagos, Nigeria.

South African Airways (SAA) is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa,with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 38 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International Airport, using a fleet of 54 aircraft. The airline is headed by CEO Monwabisi Kalawe. The acting CEO is Nico Bezuidenhout.

In January 2015 while announcing financial results, SAA announced plans to end its non-stop services to Beijing and Mumbai. Services to China will be replaced by a new direct Air China route between Beijing and Johannesburg, while India will now be served by offline access through Etihad Airways hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport. These heavily loss-making routes were originally set to be cut in 2013 when service to Buenos Aires was also suspended; however, then the government of South Africa only granted SAA the right to suspend Buenos Aires.In June 2015, the currently acting CEO stated that of the airline's long-haul network, only the routes to Munich, Frankfurt and Perth make profits while all others are slightly or heavily loss-making.