Over the past months, Southern and East Africa have seen more airlines enhancing capacity; new routes added to increase frequency, allowing more passengers to be brought to and carried around Africa; and new strategies introduced to make travelling easier for passengers.
Tourism Update spoke to some of the airlines flying into and around Southern and East African destinations.
Latest news from the skies
Mandy Lerena, SA Commercial Manager of Virgin Atlantic, says the airline is excited about its second daily flight between London and Johannesburg, commencing on October 28. “This additional flight will give us over 180 000 extra seats on this route every year, and better connections from the US west coast and into regional Africa. As a company we are always reviewing potential routes. We are also pleased to announce our joint venture with Air France and KLM, which will commence in 2019, opening up more possibilities and destinations to and from Europe, for our passengers.”
Thabiso Leshoai, Assistant Manager of Communications from Air Botswana, says the airline currently offers a connection between Maun and Kasane twice a week, which means that a tourist itinerary can combine the pristine Okavango Delta and the Chobe National Park in Kasane by air. “This proves to be more affordable than using small chartered aircraft. Business class will be available from December on the new ATR72 600 aircraft on the Maun-Kasane flights. To maximise their African safari indulgence, European tourists can combine the three major tourist attractions of Maun (Delta), Chobe and Victoria Falls, which is a short drive from the Chobe National Park.”
Flight changes into Africa
In February, Tourism Update published a round-up of domestic, intra-Africa, and long-haul flight changes and movements.
The following flight adjustments were made by international airlines servicing African destinations:
From March 8: Ethiopian Airlines will operate five weekly flights between Buenos Aires and Addis Ababa. Flights from Addis Ababa will route via São Paulo.
From March 16: Iberia and Qatar Airways expanded their codeshare, covering, amongst others, Doha-Addis Ababa.
From March 24 to October: British Airways flies direct from London Heathrow to the Seychelles, with flights operating on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
From March 25: Air France flies three times a week between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Nairobi.
From April 1: Joon, operated by Air France, flies three times a week between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Cape Town International Airport.
From April 8: Alitalia commenced flights between Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome and OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
From April 24: Air Seychelles suspended its Paris and Antananarivo (Madagascar) routes, as part of its strategic transformation plan to ensure long-term profitability and sustainability of the airline.
From June 10: SAA added capacity between Johannesburg and East London, with a double-daily service (except on Mondays and Saturdays).
On July 5: Proflight Zambia added a new route from Lusaka-Harare, flying five times per week.
On July 18: Ethiopian Airlines has resumed daily flights between Addis Ababa and Asmara (Eritrea), which will operate until October 27. A second flight schedule has been filed.
From July 30: Airlink will increase capacity on its Johannesburg-Walvis Bay services, and from July 31 the carrier will further enhance its Cape Town-Hoedspruit services. From October 1, the airline will suspend its Pietermaritzburg-Cape Town route.
From November 13, 2018, to February 18, 2019: Cathay Pacific will launch non-stop seasonal flights between Hong Kong and Cape Town.
RwandAir has launched direct flights between Brussels and Kigali, operating three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Coming up
What new flights and routes can Europeans expect into Africa, and to carry them between African destinations? Here’s a list of some developments.
FlyAfrica is expected to return to the skies on August 15, and begin operating a Harare-Bulawayo route.
Air Tanzania has updated its Kilimanjaro-Mwanza flight, scheduled to operate from July 29 to August 25. On July 17, the airline opened reservations for resumption of its service from Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura and Entebbe, in late August.
Air Mauritius plans to increase its Durban-Mauritius service, with the addition of a fourth weekly flight from December 16, 2018, to January 12, 2019.
In the third quarter of this year, Kenya Airways will add two flights a week between Amsterdam and Nairobi. In the first quarter of 2019, the airline will reduce its Nairobi-Livingstone-Cape Town service, from four to three flights per week.
From September 10-30 Emirates will temporarily reduce its Dubai-Seychelles service from 14 to 10 flights weekly.
