Direct flights between Perth and Johannesburg look set to return in 2024, promises a South African Airways executive, as the Star Alliance member works to rebuild its international network.
Speaking in a online webinar to the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association earlier this week, as reported by trade outlet TravelNews.co.za, the airline’s General Manager for Sales, Marketing, e-Commerce and Distribution Carla da Silva said SAA hoped to put its Perth schedule online next week, ahead of a March 2024 launch.
There would initially be three flights a week between Perth and Johannesburg, she added.
Da Silva said January 2024 would see the arrival of three newly-leased long-range jets which, alongside a possible Airbus A350, would also allow the restart of flights to London and Frankfurt.
Da Silva noted that after being grounded for some 18 months due to bankruptcy during the global pandemic, the carrier resumed a pared-back service in September 2021 and has slowly been adding flights since then, as well as returning to profitability. The airline also remains a Virgin Australia partner.
South African Airways has been approached for comment by Executive Traveller.
As previously reported, Qantas has long been jostling to add Perth-Jo’burg to its network, but managed only a short-lived service from November 2022 to March 2023 citing complications with “border security and biosecurity screening requirements” at a specially-built international wing of Perth Terminal 3, which has become the airline’s WA hub rather than the primary T1 international terminal.
(Indeed, in early 2018 the airline was planning Perth-Johannesburg flights four times a week on an Airbus A330 jet from November 2018, but the airport’s insistence in using T1 rather than T3 turned out to be a deal-breaker for Qantas management.)
However, with Perth-Paris flights taking off from T3 in July 2024 and indications of a rapprochement under new leadership at Qantas and Perth Airport, the red tail of Qantas could once again be making the 11 hour trek across the Indian Ocean.
Speaking at a panel discussion held at South x Southwest Sydney in late October, Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace noted the airline “always has five or six different city pairs under what we call ‘deep observation’ – looking at passenger flows (and) looking at yields.”
At the time of writing, Qantas has upgraded its Sydney-Johannesburg route from a Boeing 787 to an Airbus A380 from July 2024, although the flights will no longer run on a daily basis.
Executive Traveller will update this article with South African Airways’ response and further information as it becomes available.
Source: https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/south-african-airways-perth-johannesburg
