SAA drops 'unprofitable' UK route
2012-06-06 08:22
South African Airways passengers flying from Cape Town to London
will from August 15 be re-routed via Johannesburg, the airline announced
on Tuesday.
While it may be in line with SAA’s route optimization
strategy, as general manager Theunis Potgieter pointed out at a media briefing, the announcement has come as something of a blow to Cape Town Tourism.
Mariëtte
Du Toit-Helmbold, Cape Town Tourism CEO has responded to SAA’s decision, saying "It’s a great disappointment for the Mother City’s tourism industry and that
they fear it could affect tourism arrivals from the UK and the rest of Europe
negatively.
“Whilst SAA’s growth strategy’s emphasis on expansion of
routes into Africa and new markets like South America and Australasia is
encouraging, the issue of direct air access to Cape Town is again highlighted.
Airlines must make economic sense. When a flight is cancelled this is the
reason. Decreased business travel, as a result of troubled economies, continues
to plague key source markets. The business traveler is a major contributor to
covering flight expenses, which points to a need to work hard on forging
stronger business ties in addition to the leisure market,” Du Toit-Helmbold added.
Potgieter explained that the decision was based on SAA's long-term growth and
business optimisation strategy. This included using its aircraft fleet
more effectively by re-deploying some to its growing Accra, Mumbai and
Perth routes and by adding Abidjan to the network.
Declining passenger numbers to the UK and increasing
airport taxes in that country were some of the reasons for SAA ending
its 20-year Cape Town-London service.
Nils Flaatten, CEO of Wesgro commented: "Our research has indicated that the London-Cape Town route still holds strong economic value for the Western Cape and neighbouring Eastern Cape. International airlines identified this and are increasing their capacity during peak season. Many business and leisure travelers from the United States are using London as a connecting flight into Cape Town and we are at risk of losing these visitors, as the traveling time has been extended even further."
He added that a national debate on airlift strategy is urgently required to discuss direct flights into Cape Town International Airport as well as the other regional airports, as poor economic conditions in the global north and escalating fuel prices were making it difficult for many international airlines to remain competitive. "These market conditions would also have an impact on the pricing of domestic flights and the ability to move tourists throughout South Africa," he said.
SAA has two daily services between Johannesburg
and London and will be increasing its capacity on these flights by 13
percent through use of larger aircraft to accommodate passengers from
Cape Town.
Potgieter said SAA offered up to 44 daily flights between Cape Town and OR Tambo International Airport.
"For South African travellers to European destinations
outside London, travel via Johannesburg and Frankfurt or Munich offers
significant convenience and cost advantages," he said.
It was also announced that SAA Cargo would re-route
airfreight from Cape Town via Johannesburg without impacting on
exporters which needed to get products to market in the UK rapidly.
Voyager members who had booked flights between Cape
Town and London after August 15th, using Frequent Flyer Miles, would be
re-routed via Johannesburg.
"Anyone (else) who has booked a flight between Cape
Town and London after August 15th will be re-routed via Johannesburg at
no additional charge," Potgieter said.
However, passengers choosing not to be re-routed would be refunded by the airline.
According to Potgieter, serving the Cape Town-London
route via Johannesburg will have an immediate positive effect on SAA's
bottom line.
"South Africa is among the top five fastest declining
visitor markets to the UK, statistics made available by VisitBritain
indicate. With declining numbers of passengers using the Cape
Town-London flight for onward connections in Europe or North America,
the route does not serve any of SAA's network objectives," he said.
"A thorough analysis of the route made it clear that we could use our aircraft more profitably..."
Potgieter said many global airlines were increasingly
finding flying via the UK challenging as that country's Treasury had
just doubled Air Passenger Departure taxes and air traffic control, and
other fees were particularly high.
"The Treasury move has even been opposed by
UK-domiciled airlines due to its detrimental effect on trade, travel and
tourism. Individual passengers from South Africa must now also pay a
minimum of £52 (roughly R685) for transit visas if they are travelling
beyond the UK," he said.
Current flight routes between Cape Town and London (according to Southafrica.to):
Non-stop flights from Cape Town to London
British Airways
Cape Town International Airport (CPT) to
London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
non-stop (11h30m)
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Cape Town International Airport (CPT) to
London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
non-stop (12h00m)
1 & 2-stop flights from Cape Town to London
Even though these airlines stop on the way, they are often cheaper than the direct flights to London.
Airline
Air France
Cape Town International Airport (CPT)
to London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
1-stop
Paris
Emirates
Cape Town International Airport (CPT)
to London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
or to London Gatwick Airport (LGW)
1-stop
Dubai International Airport (DXB)
Etihad Airways
Cape Town International Airport (CPT) to London
2-stops
Johannesburg
Abu Dhabi
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Cape Town International Airport (CPT) to
London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
1-stop (14h00m)
Amsterdam (Schipol)
Qatar Airways
Cape Town International Airport (CPT) to
London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
1-stop
Doha (DOH)
Iberia Airline suspended flights from Johannesburg from 1 May 2012
Lufthansa
Cape Town International Airport (CPT) to
London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
1-stop
Frankfurt International
