South African Airways (SAA) has confirmed it will add another two new routes to its network and will increase frequency to some of its existing destinations. Over the course of the following couple of months the carrier will add new flights to Abidjan and Brazzaville, increasing its total network across the continent to 28 points.
The airline will serve Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast, on a twice weekly basis from August 17, 2012 as an extension of its existing route from Johannesburg to Accra, in Ghana. It has also secured traffic rights between Accra and Abidjan which enables the carrier to serve customers flying between these two cities in either direction, supplementing the demand between South Africa and Ivory Coast.
Abidjan is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. It is also the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris and Kinshasa. Considered a cultural hub of Francophone West Africa, Abidjan is characterised by a high level of industrialisation and urbanisation.
The second new destination, Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo, will come on line from September 13, 2012 and will be flown on a twice weekly basis. This route will be flown using an Airbus A319, while the Abidjan service will be flown using an A330-200. Both markets are scheduled to fit optimally with the arrival and departure of SAA’s international flights at OR Tambo International Airport thereby offering passengers convenient connections through Johannesburg.
Brazzaville, or Brazza, as the capital city is affectionately called by residents and visitors alike, is the financial and administrative capital of the Republic of Congo. The city is located on the Congo River; and as of the 2001 census, it has a population of 1,018,541 in the city proper, and about 1, 5-million in total when including the suburbs located in the Pool Region. The populous city of Kinshasa (more than 10-million inhabitants in 2009) and capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; lies just across the Congo River from Brazzaville. Together with Kinshasa, the combined metropolitan area of Kinshasa-Brazzaville has nearly 12-million inhabitants.
In line with its African growth strategy, SAA is expanding its presence on the continent, ensuring that destinations that were once difficult to reach by air are now more accessible to its customers. “SAA is focused on ensuring that connections to developing African business and leisure hubs are strengthened. Our goal is to offer convenient connections and a world-class product to our customers across the continent. Adding these routes to our African route network further demonstrates our commitment to growth on the continent,” said Theunis Potgieter, General Manager Commercial, South African Airways.
Abidjan will be SAA’s sixth additional destination on the continent and Brazzaville the seventh that the national carrier has introduced since October last year. Cotonou in Benin and Pointe Noire (Congo) were other recent additions in the continent. SAA will also add more flights to some of its key African and international destinations with a seventh weekly flight to Perth, Australia from August 16 and fifth weekly rotation to Accra, Ghana from August 19.
“South African Airways’ growth strategy is focused on further strengthening its African route network, as well as adding capacity on key international routes which have shown a strong growth in demand. SAA prouds itself in bringing our customers these added travel options,” said Theunis Potgieter.
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