SAA focuses on partnerships to expand reach

As the world emerges from recession, developing economies will be the primary drivers of recovery. And Africa, as a developing continent that has serious limitations in terms of road transportation, has become a key area of focus for SAA Cargo. “We need to try to expand our reach beyond the current points of operation,” says SAA Cargo acting divisional head Justice Luthuli. “And to achieve this we must try to find partners in Africa to help us fly to points currently not served in our network.” Luthuli concedes that the current state of the aviation industry in Africa remains a challenge. “But we believe that by co-operating and sharing skills and resources we can help to resuscitate some of the requisite routes by helping to re-establish airlines. “SAA is a leading airline in Africa. By sharing our capacity and expertise we would not only be helping ourselves but helping Africa to reconnect – and this is where we believe our focus should be.” Luthuli is hopeful that the turmoil is over and that an upswing is on the way. “For us it’s important to move quickly. As much as there has been too much capacity we may find that the capacity available has been misappropriated so we have to choose the routes we believe are going to be the leading routes in Africa.” Over the past year Lusaka has been one of the airline’s key growth markets. With perishables moving out of the country and essentials from South Africa and the rest of the world flying in, it’s a bi-directional trade. Luanda, another top performer, on the other hand is one-directional. “It’s a developing country which is importing most of its goods – and with all the construction taking place, spares for the mining industry as well as ICT like cell phones are big export business.” SAA launched its freighter service to Luanda in August this year, an initiative linked to the revision of the aero-political regime between the two countries. “It’s allowed us to operate a cargo aircraft on a full-time basis – and we see significant growth potential.” The challenge however lies in Africa’s infrastructural limitations. “We have not been able to activate the outbound service but are in discussions to establish how we can collaborate to bring the security measures up to standard so that we can make sure that they benefit from inter-border trade.” While the airline lists Kinshasa, Maputo, Accra, Lagos and Dakar as additional key performing routes on the continent, connecting with intercontinental destinations through Johannesburg, it remains intent on extending its reach. And this will be achieved through a strong focus on hubs – with a central African, West African and East African hub all part of the mix.