South African Airways Adds Rwanda and Burundi to African Network

South African Airways (SAA), Africa’s most awarded airline, has added two more travel options to its African route network as part of the airline’s growth plans on the continent. Effective January 17, 2012, SAA will commence operations from Johannesburg to Kigali (Rwanda) and onwards to Bujumbura (Burundi). The return flights will operate from Bujumbura to Kigali and onwards to Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport. These flights are now available for reservations in the Global Distribution System (GDS’s), through your travel agent, and via flysaa.com, the airline’s online website.

The new Kigali and Bujumbura flights have been conveniently timed to provide global connections via our Johannesburg hub and to SAA’s international network, including Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Australia.

“SAA is focused on strengthening its intra-Africa network in line with its Africa Expansion programme. Adding even more destinations to our already extensive Africa route network gives our customers more travel options to thriving destinations that were previously difficult to reach by air,” says Theunis Potgieter, SAA General Manager Commercial.

In addition to being the capital city of Rwanda, Kigali is also its economic, cultural and tourist transit hub. Bujumbura is Burundi’s capital and largest city and is close to the country’s main port, shipping coffee as its primary export.

The route between Johannesburg to Kigali and onwards to Bujumbura will be serviced three times a week by SAA’s state-of-the-art Airbus A319 aircraft, which is able to accommodate 120 passengers in a two class (business and economy) configuration.

SAA’s most recent addition to its African route network was the start of flights to Ndola, Zambia on October 2nd. The Ndola service is largely aligned to growth in demand from mining executives, especially those flying into South Africa from countries such as Australia.

Schedule for Johannesburg - Kigali - Bujumbura:
Flight SA088    
Operates Tuesday, Friday, Sunday
Departs Johannesburg at 13h00, arrives Kigali at 17h00

Flight SA088
Operates Tuesday, Friday, Sunday
Departs Kigali at 17h50, arrives Bujumbura at 18h40

Schedule for Bujumbura - Kigali - Johannesburg:        
Flight SA089
Operates Monday, Wednesday, Saturday
Departs Bujumbura at 07h50, arrives Kigali at 08h45

Flight SA089
Operates Monday, Wednesday, Saturday
Departs Kigali at 09h35, arrives Johannesburg at 13h35

SAA’s Africa route network:
Accra (Ghana); Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) (code share); Blantyre & Lilongwe (Malawi); Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania); Dakar (Senegal); Douala (Cameroon); Libreville (Gabon); Entebbe (Uganda); Kinshasa (DRC); Harare & Vic Falls (Zimbabwe); Luanda (Angola); Lusaka, Livingstone, Ndola (Zambia); Maputo (Mozambique); Mauritius; Nairobi (Kenya); Windhoek (Namibia).