A thorough strategic and operational overhaul at SAA Cargo is finally paying dividends, with increasing payload volumes and more routes in the offing. In addition, a new partnership with Kenya Airways has allowed a reactivation of the key and lucrative Amsterdam-Johannesburg route, and this will further extend SAA’s cargo reach.
Achieving this since exiting business rescue, says SAA cargo manager Keke Mokwena, has not been easy. He says SAA had to adjust to the transition internally while simultaneously trying to claw back lost ground from competitors expanding their services into the local and regional markets.
“We are immensely proud of what we have achieved in a short space of time and are well on track to achieve our targets in terms of revenue contribution to the airline. ”
Keke says key routes are fast gaining traction, with Nigeria and Ghana leading growth in regional markets. Additional network routes like Mauritius are also vital to unlocking further revenue and growth. Additional regional routes are in the pipeline he says, which will provide customers with much-needed direct services to important markets.
Keke says SAA has emerged from the year-long business rescue process as a start-up airline in a completely transformed global aviation landscape. “The two-year interruption brought on by Covid-19 not only rearranged the way people work, but elevated the status of the cargo business in airlines’ hierarchy all over the world. For most airlines, the cargo business became synonymous with boom or bust.”
Keke says the focus is now on expanding the cargo business organically and embracing new ways of operation. Part of the strategy includes increasing “belly load factors” and forging stronger relationships with key airline partners.
