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.