THE NATIONAL air carrier, SAA, has been busy reworking its flight schedule. The changes are clearly passenger-driven and intended to make travel quicker and easier for users, and for the airline to earn more revenue. The route between Johannesburg and Washington DC in the US will operate non-stop, instead of via Dakar, from October 29. SAA will continue to operate to New York via Dakar – a flight which is predominantly used by travellers from West Africa to the US. The airline is also exploring possible new destinations in Europe and North America – and hopes to make announcements regarding these in due course. To meet the huge demand over the peak time in the November to January holiday period, extra flights will be introduced to Frankfurt, London and Perth. At least one extra flight a week will be added to each of these destinations during December and January. Flights to Entebbe, Uganda, have been changed to overnight – with SA162 to operate three times a week – and, from October 29, flights to Livingstone in Zambia will operate daily instead of three times a week. SAA has added a fifth weely frequency on its route to India, a fourth on the Accra, Ghana route and will, from December to February, use the Boeing 747-400 on the route to Sao Paulo in Brazil instead of the Airbus A340-300. The airline is also set to announce new routes to Central Africa, West Africa, North America and Europe in the coming months.
