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SAA
OPENS NEW ROUTES ON AFRICAN CONTINENT AND
INTERNATIONALLY JOHANNESBURG:
South African Airways (SAA) is further
strengthening its position in Africa and across the
Atlantic with the introduction of new exiting
business and leisure routes. This is part of the
aggressive implementation of its turn around
strategy focusing on more connectivity for its
passengers as well as its preparations to be a full
member of the global network of airlines, Star
Alliance. Beginning July the airline takes
corporate and business travellers to the pulse of
the world's business capital, Washington. Leisure
travellers can anticipate the natural beauty and
magnificence of the Indian Ocean Island, Zanzibar
and Livingstone on the shores of the Victoria Water
Falls in Zambia. The
service to
Washington
operates four times a week via Accra (Ghana)
in West Africa. "Our American routes have shown
tremendous growth and adding a third destination to
North America provides a wonderful opportunity for
expanding our global route network. "Opening a
further gateway to business travellers to the
Americas supports our realignment strategy of
People, Patronage and Profits aimed at providing
our passengers an unsurpassable product and
service, and reaching a financial
turnaround. "This
route as an extension of our existing service four
times a week to Accra, and secures our position in
West Africa," says Khaya Ngqula, SAA President and
CEO. The product offering on SAA's eight Boeing
747-400s that will service this route features a
lie-flat seat in Business and First class. The
airline's brand new Airbus A340-600s and A340-300E,
already offer Premium passengers a world class
product to New York and Atlanta, SAA's existing
destinations in the United States. "Adding
Washington to our strong and firmly established New
York and Atlanta hubs, gives us access to 95
destinations and 450 daily flights to other America
cities, served by the Star Alliance partner, United
Airlines. SA207 to Washington, via Accra, will
depart from Johannesburg at 18:40 on Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, to arrive in Accra
at 22:45. From Accra it will depart at 23:45 to
arrive in Washington at 6:45 the next day. SA208
will leave Washington on Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays at 08:45 to arrive in Accra
at 22:55. The flight to Johannesburg will leave
Accra at 23:55 to arrive the next morning at
07:40. "We
anticipate that this route will grow with time to a
daily service in keeping with SAA's strategy of
growing all long haul routes," says Ngqula. SAA now
flies daily to Sao Paulo, Frankfurt, Zurich, London
(up to 4 dailies), New York, Atlanta, Mumbai and
Paris. Serving the leisure market, SAA will also
from July take holidaymakers eager to discover the
singular beauty of Zanzibar, twice a week to "the
spice island", off the East coast of
Tanzania. Air
Tanzania,
in which SAA holds a 49% shareholding, flies
between Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Zanzibar. The
direct flights from Johannesburg to Zanzibar will
depart as SA186 at 10:00 to arrive in Zanzibar at
14:40 on Tuesdays and Sundays. SA187 will return
from Zanzibar at 15:40 to arrive in Johannesburg at
18:40. Livingstone, on the Zambian side of the
Victoria Falls, will be served three times a week,
on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturday, complementing
SAA's existing flights to the Victoria Falls on the
Zimbabwean side. SA048
will depart from Johannesburg at 13:55 to arrive in
Livingstone at 15:45, and SA049 will depart
from Livingstone at 16:45 to arrive in Johannesburg
at 18:35. Both Zanzibar and Livingston will be
served by the airline's brand new A319s. Adding
exquisite destinations like Livingstone and
Zanzibar to our African route network, fulfills our
aim to expand into Africa, our primary
market. It
gives us a deep sense of satisfaction to offer the
people of this continent the opportunity to
discover its beauty," says Ngqula. Issued by South
African Airways |
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