National carrier announces African expansion plans

South African Airways (SAA) wants to focus on growing its African network while also improving inter-connectivity on the continent.

Speaking at the International Air Transport Association (Iata) annual general meeting in Miami, SAA acting chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout said the national carrier was determined to bring its service to more and more destinations in Africa.

“Our goal is to increase our revenue in the region by 30% in the next twelve months. Africa is a huge potential market for aviation and as Africa’s legacy airline, we want to see the continent contribute to more than the current 3% of global aviation,” said Bezuidenhout.

SAA is already strengthening its position in West Africa with the launch of a new service between Accra, Ghana and Washington D.C., United States.
Starting from 3 August 2015, SAA will provide the only non-stop flight between Ghana and Washington D.C.

In line with its promise of improving inter-connectivity on the continent, SAA entered into a bi-lateral codeshare agreement with Africa World Airlines.

This airline partnership will offer SAA customers from Washington and Johannesburg seamless connectivity via Accra to other destinations in Ghana such as Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale as well as to Lagos, Nigeria.