The economic crisis in Europe is resulting in a slight slowdown of tourism to South Africa, according to Axel Simon, Director Southern Africa for Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines.

He told Tourism Update at a media briefing in Cape Town that Lufthansa was experiencing a slight volume drop on its Johannesburg and Cape Town routes at present, although average load factors on both routes were still around 80% to 85%. “We have some flights that are completely full but we need to see how January and February will go. He said Lufthansa in general was preparing for slower growth rates in passenger traffic for the year ahead.

Meanwhile, however, Lufthansa’s seasonal B747-400 direct service to Cape Town (end of October to end of March) remained “extremely popular” with the leisure market and with frequent travellers. By deploying the Boeing instead of the A340-600 used previously, the carrier increased capacity on the route by 8% (24 seats per flight), largely in premium class. Simon said he was one of the biggest supporters of year-round services to Cape Town but at this stage Lufthansa had “severe aircraft utilisation problems” to the destination. “But I’m fighting for it and it will come” he promised.  

Simon reported that 2011 had been an exciting year for Lufthansa in South Africa, having seen the start of daily A380 schedules between Johannesburg and Frankfurt, increasing capacity by 60%, totalling 32 000 seats per month on the route. To offset this capacity surge, the carrier introduced special fares to stimulate the market, which paid off in high load factors. He said the A380 had also helped Lufthansa target new market segments, such as large sports groups.