British Airways is increasing its capacity to Africa. From next month it will add 680 seats a week between London and Johannesburg by increasing its current 10-times-a-week A380 service to double daily, replacing the four weekly B747 flights.
Johannesburg will be the only British Airways route with two daily A380s apart from Los Angeles.
In November the daily London-Cape Town Boeing 747 service will increase to double daily for the South African summer season and the airline will start operating three additional Boeing 777 services from Gatwick. It will also provide a number of extra services from Heathrow to meet demand over the New Year peak, Indaba, UK half term in February, and Easter.
Satsa Chief Operating Officer, Hannelie du Toit, says the increased capacity is a sign that there is a growing demand for travel to South Africa. “For the month of December 2016, the UK accounted for 54 608 of our international arrivals, with 21 187 coming in by air to Cape Town International Airport, and 28 404 making their way through the doors of OR Tambo International Airport. We hope to see these numbers increasing in the coming December period when flights are operational just in time for the peak season.”
Sue Petrie, British Airways Commercial Manager Southern Africa, adds, “With the A380 services to Johannesburg and the expanded Cape Town schedule, we’ll be offering more seats to South Africa than we ever have before.”
This comes soon after British Airways announced a multimillion-pound investment plan, with a focus on excellence in the premium cabins and more choice and quality for all its customers.
The airline will spend £400m on Club World, with an emphasis on improved catering and sleeping facilities, and a new seat in the future. At Heathrow a First Wing check-in area with direct security and lounge access has launched, and lounges around the airline’s network are to be revamped. This includes the Johannesburg lounge.
All customers can look forward to the latest generation WiFi across the long- and short-haul fleets, over the next two years.
The airline is also growing its presence in the Indian Ocean islands, starting services to the Seychelles and, from the end of October, expanding the current Boeing 777 services from Gatwick to Mauritius, from three to five a week.
