SAA to focus on growing network

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Pretoria - South African Airways (SAA) wants to focus on growing its African network while also improving inter-connectivity on the continent.

Speaking at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting in Miami, SAA Acting Chief Executive Nico Bezuidenhout said the national carrier is determined to bring its premium service to more and more destinations in Africa.

“Our goal is to increase our revenue in the region by 30% in the next twelve months. 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,” said Bezuidenhout.

SAA is already strengthening its position in West Africa with the launch of a new service between Accra, Ghana and Washington D.C., United States.

Starting from 3 August 2015, SAA will provide the only nonstop flight between Ghana and Washington D.C.

True to its promise of improving inter-connectivity on the continent, SAA entered into a bi-lateral codeshare 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.

SAA’s CEO also highlighted the improved performance of the carrier since its 90-Day Action Plan was completed, with a material year-on-year improvement noticeable in the current financial year, which for SAA commenced in April 2015.

The plan included major cost-cutting initiatives and network optimisation which led to significant savings. South African Airways is now ready to boost its capacity and focus on its African routes.  

“In the first quarter of 2015, a lot of efforts went into stabilising our airline and we achieved significant milestones. We now want to grow our capabilities and better connect South Africa to the rest of the continent,” said Bezuidenhout. – SAnews.gov.za