SAA and Etihad mull cargo opportunities

The codeshare agreement between SAA and Etihad Airways will have no initial impact on the cargo operations of the two airlines, but could hold lots of promise for the not-sodistant future, according to Ronel Mendes, marketing manager of SAA Cargo. This after they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) allowing the two airlines to introduce a comprehensive range of codeshare and interline air services as well as explore synergy and efficiency opportunities. At this moment that MoU only refers to passengers, she told FTW. “We have no special prorate agreement (SPA) for cargo in place yet, under which we could receive their paperwork and put their cargo on our aircraft – and vice-versa. So, from a cargo point of view, it doesn’t mean much now,” she said. But, if the appropriate route and cost studies were done, and the idea proved feasible, it could become a beneficial opportunity for both carriers, Mendes added. “It could open up Africa for Etihad through our network on the continent,” she said. Under the MoU, Etihad Airways will place its ‘EY’ code on SAA flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, as well as to Livingstone, Lusaka, Ndola, Harare, and Victoria Falls. Outside Africa, the MoU allows Etihad Airways to place its code on SAA flights to Sao Paulo. “For us,” Mendes added, “it could open up other points on the Etihad schedule.” These could include the 12 key destinations in Etihad’s global markets that are part of the MoU, in the Middle East, Far East, India, and South America. But for the moment it remains purely a possibility. CAPTION Ronel Mendes … ‘it could become a beneficial opportunity for both carriers.’