South African Airways last week revealed plans to establish a hub in West Africa in two years’ time. The cargo division has however expressed reservations about the freight prospects in the region. “Maybe five years ago we may have been interested,” Ronel Mendez, marketing manager of SAA Cargo, told FTW. “But now there’s too much competition on the West African routes. “We’re rather concentrating on the rest of Africa.” Nigeria is still a good market for SAA Cargo. “But,” Mendez added, “developing across the rest of West Africa is just not on. “We’ll establish an office there, but we don’t see the capacity to do anything else.” SAA CEO Monwabisi Kalawe was quoted as saying that SAA was reviewing the suitability of Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Gabon and Togo for a new base, and that the feasibility studies should be concluded in six to 12 months.
