Lufthansa launches Munich, Cape Town route
2012-11-02 11:03
Cape Town - Lufthansa will be operating five flights a week between Munich and Cape Town during the upcoming high season. The seasonal service started on October 28 and will end on April 8 2013.
Tourism Update reports that the German carrier with its leisure subsidiary, Edelweiss Air, will provide 90 000 seats to Cape Town during this time. For inbound tourism, this means an extra 45 000 visitors with foreign currency spending power, a boost for the Western Cape hospitality industry and economy.
Between December 20 and January 10 daily services will be increased when an A380-600 will provide 100 extra seats to meet higher demand.
Lufthansa last year discontinued a Frankfurt-Cape Town seasonal flight because of a night flight ban at Frankfurt, which caused scheduling problems.
Axel Simon, director Southern Africa for Lufthansa and SWISS International Air Lines, says the new Munich-Cape Town route is proving popular in both directions with advance bookings for the upcoming season promising high load factors. He says the airline would like to serve Cape Town year-round and is continuously monitoring the route's year-round potential but has to balance demand versus costs.
He says Africa is one of the strongest growth markets for the Lufthansa Group. Destinations on the continent, served with partner airlines, have increased from 15 to 40 in the past decade, and now constitute about 15% of the group's worldwide network.
Come join the News24 Travel community on Facebook and Pinterest or follow us on Twitter, otherwisesubscribe to our weekly newsletter for more useful travel updates.
