SAA adds US, African destinations

ALAN PEAT
THE NATIONAL carrier, South African Airways (SAA), is to add three new routes to its schedule from July – one to the US and two to new African destinations.
The new trans-Atlantic service is to Washington and will operate four times a week via Accra, Ghana.
The new African services are to the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, and Livingstone, on the shores of the Victoria Falls in Zambia.
The Washington service is an extension of the airline’s existing service four times a week to Accra - and secures SAA’s position in West Africa, according to Khaya Ngqula, president and CEO.
It will be operated using Boeing 747-400s, with the flights departing from Johannesburg on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays – and leaving Washington on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The flights to the “spice island” of Zanzibar are to be twice-weekly on Tuesdays and Sundays, and add to the current Dar es Salaam-Zanzibar service operated by Air Tanzania - in which SAA holds a 49% shareholding.
Livingstone is to be served three times a week and complements SAA’s existing flights to the Zimbabwean side of Victoria Falls.
Both Zanzibar and Livingstone will be served by the airline’s brand new Airbus A319 aircraft.