South African Airways (SAA) has announced significant schedule and route enhancements to its African network, including: added frequencies to several destinations, new or upgraded aircraft on certain routes, and product developments that will further enhance the flight experience for SAA's valued customers.
From 25 February 2012, SAA will launch an additional flight between Johannesburg and the following cities: Lusaka (Zambia) on Wednesdays and Sundays; Kinshasa (DRC) on Mondays through Saturdays; and Accra (Ghana) daily except Wednesdays.
"These additions are part of SAA's strategy to optimize its schedule throughout the African continent, resulting in expanded services and more convenient schedules and connections for our customers," said Theunis Potgieter, General Manager of Commercial for SAA.
SAA will take delivery of 22 new, state-of-the-art narrow body Airbus A320 aircraft as part of its fleet renewal process. "We are also in the process of optimizing flight departure times and adding our brand new Airbus A320 aircraft on key domestic routes, whilst also scheduling wide body aircraft on other heavily-traveled markets. These changes and enhancements will further solidify SAA's position as the leading and most awarded airline in Africa," added Potgieter.
Effective 24 February 2012, the first of the new A320s will service specific flights between Johannesburg and Durban, with the second aircraft also used on the route from 18 March. The more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly A320 aircraft are more economical to operate.
These changes will result in improved schedules for regional flights. The departure and arrival times for flights between Johannesburg and Mauritius (from 1 March 2012), Nairobi (from 18 March 2012) and Accra (from 25 March 2012) will be adjusted, resulting in more convenient connection opportunities to and from SAA's international flights. Effective 18 March 2012, flight times for SA028 and SA029 between Johannesburg and Harare will be optimized. SA028 and SA029 will also be upgraded to wide body A330 aircraft on Fridays, accounting for the typically higher demand on that day.
Aircraft upgrades will also be implemented on certain flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town as of 18 March, with the Airbus A330 operating several of the daily frequencies.
In line with SAA's growth strategy, the airline recently introduced new flights to Kigali (Rwanda) from Johannesbug, Bujumbura (Burundi), and Beijing (China).
