SAA Adds Abijan and Brazzaville to Africa Network

Johannesburg, 26 June 2012. South African Airways (SAA) is set to add, in the coming two months, two new destinations to its ever-increasing Africa-region route network. The two new destinations, Abidjan and Brazzaville, will bring the total number of destinations that SAA serves throughout Africa to 28.

As from 17 August 2012, SAA will introduce twice-weekly services to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire). These flights will be added as an extension to SAA’s Accra (Ghana) flights on Tuesdays and Fridays. In addition, SAA also secured traffic rights between Accra and Abidjan which enables the carrier to serve customers flying between these two cities in either direction.

Furthermore, as from 13 September 2012, SAA will introduce a twice-weekly service to Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo.

The Brazzaville route will be served using an Airbus A319-200 aircraft, while the Abidjan service will be operated on the same Airbus A330 – 200 widebody aircraft that serves Accra. Both markets are scheduled to fit optimally with the arrival and departure of SAA’s international flights at OR Tambo International Airport thereby offering passengers convenient connections through Johannesburg.

In line with its African growth strategy, SAA is expanding its presence on the continent, ensuring that destinations that were once difficult to reach by air are now more accessible to our customers.

“SAA is focused on ensuring that connections to developing African business and leisure hubs are strengthened. Our goal is to offer convenient connections and a world-class product to our customers across the continent. Adding these routes to our African route network further demonstrates our commitment to growth on the continent,” says Theunis Potgieter, SAA’s General Manager Commercial.

Abidjan will be SAA’s sixth additional destination on the continent and Brazzaville the seventh that the national carrier has introduced since October last year. Cotonou in Benin and Pointe Noire (Congo) were other recent additions in Africa.

Abidjan

Abidjan is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. It is also the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris and Kinshasa. Considered a cultural hub of Francophone West Africa, Abidjan is characterised by a high level of industrialisation and urbanisation.

Abidjan Schedule from 17 August 2012:

Brazzaville

Brazzaville, or Brazza, as the capital city is affectionately called by residents and visitors alike, is the financial and administrative capital of the Republic of Congo. The city is located on the Congo River; and as of the 2001 census, it has a population of 1, 018, 541 in the city proper, and about 1, 5-million in total when including the suburbs located in the Pool Region.

The populous city of Kinshasa (more than 10-million inhabitants in 2009) and capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; lies just across the Congo River from Brazzaville. Together with Kinshasa, the combined metropolitan area of Kinshasa-Brazzaville has nearly 12-million inhabitants.

Brazzaville Schedule from 13 September 2012:

*All times are local at departure/destination points.

**ENDS**


Issued by:

Dileseng Koetle
Head: Communication
Tel: +27 11 978 2298
Mobile: +27 83 400 0041
Email: dilesengkoetle@flysaa.com or media@flysaa.com

or

Kabelo Ledwaba
Communications Manager (External)
Mobile: (+27) 083 414 4720
Tel: (+ 27) 011-978-2760
Email: kabeloledwaba@flysaa.com

About SAA
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 26 destinations across the continent, as well as major destinations within South Africa and internationally from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its four wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low cost carrier; Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA and South African Travel Centre (SATC). SAA CEO Siza Mzimela is the first woman to be appointed to the IATA Board of Directors in its 67 year history. SAA is the winner of the 'Best Airline in Africa’ Award in the regional category for nine consecutive years and the winner of ‘Service Excellence Africa’ for two consecutive years. Mango and SAA hold the number one and number two successive spots as South Africa’s most on time airlines.