South African Airways (SAA) has announced plans to expand and enhance its network, including the launch of daily northbound non-stop flight on the Johannesburg-New York sector, effective 01-May-2011. It presently operates via Dakar. SAA is currently finalising all outstanding operational details for the northbound non-stop service to JFK with A340-600 equipment.
SAA will also introduce A340 operations to Kenya and Namibia, reflecting rising demand. Effective 27-Feb-2011, SAA will operate a daily frequency to Nairobi with an increase in seats from 2,918 to 3,500 per week, while SAA will introduce widebody services between Johannesburg and Windhoek (Namibia) on seven of its 20 weekly services, effective 27-Mar-2011, increasing available seats from 5,830 to 6,746. These services are timed for connections to/from Frankfurt, Munich, London and New York via Johannesburg.
SAA will also add an 18th weekly frequency from Johannesburg to Harare, effective 29-Mar-2011 and increase frequency to Entebbe (Uganda) from six times weekly to daily on the same date. Within South Africa, SAA will increase the seats available on the crucial Johannesburg to Cape Town route by operating an additional scheduled service using widebody aircraft.
Kenya Airways' shares eased 1.1% yesterday reflecting increasing competition on the Johannesburg-Nairobi route.
Selected African and Middle Eastern airlines’ share price movements: (% change): 08-Feb-2011
