JetBlue Airways this week began codesharing with South African Airways (SAA) on its New York JFK-Johannesburg service. Routes News reports on the network opportunities the move has created for both carriers.
JetBlue's codeshare arrangement with South African Airways is the latest in a number of similar agreements that the New York based operator has recently put into place.
The LCC has secured ticketing arrangements with Aer Lingus and also codeshares with European major Lufthansa, which owns 19% of the carrier. The agreement with South African Airways will allow passengers to travel on a single itinerary, with the carriers coming to a pro-rata agreement on ticketed revenue.
Traffic Flow: South Africa to the US
The codeshare agreement will apply to South African Airways' service from Johannesburg to New York (JFK), which is operated daily with an A340-300
There are limited non-stop services between South Africa and the US, with just one other non-stop service currently offered between the two countries with Delta Air Lines flying nine times a week from Atlanta to Johannesburg.
IATA BSP data (Airport IS) shows that over 459,000 O&D passengers flew between the US and South Africa between February 2009 and 2010, highlighting the strong demand for air services between the two countries. The majority of this traffic will currently transit via Europe.
Interestingly, between February 2009 and 2010, over 537,000 passengers flew from Continental Africa to New York JFK highlighting the demand for service between the continent and JFK, but demonstrating the focus of demand is from South Africa.
What Can SAA and JetBlue Offer Each Other?
As a leading low-cost carrier in the US market, JetBlue offers a strong product aimed at not just attracting leisure traffic but also, business travellers, similarly to easyJet in the UK. JetBlue is currently the largest carrier at JFK in terms of seat capacity, as outlined in the table below:
|
Carrier |
Weekly Seats |
Destinations |
Market Share |
|
JetBlue |
160,392 |
53 |
42% |
|
Delta Air Lines |
102,395 |
60 |
27% |
|
American Airlines |
58,492 |
36 |
15% |
|
United Airlines |
17,728 |
3 |
5% |
|
Virgin America |
10,400 |
3 |
3% |
|
Total |
384,401 |
100% |
Source: Flightbase 14-20 June 2010
While SAA has codeshare opportunities with fellow Star Alliance members in the USA, its options were limited. Continental Airlines operates its New York services out of Newark, US Airways operates mainly from La Guardia, although it does own slots at JFK which were owned previously by America West, and United Airlines only operates three destinations from JFK. With JFK firmly established as the key airport in the New York system, the partnership with JetBlue will offer South African Airways passengers the opportunity to fly to a further 53 destinations in the US and the Caribbean offered by JetBlue on the same ticket, importantly offering increased connectivity through JFK.
With JetBlue purely operating domestic and near international services with its fleet of regional jets and A320 narrow-bodies, the carrier is taking its first steps in getting the Jetblue brand into the International market with the establishment of codeshare agreements with legacy carriers, offering its passengers at JFK the option to fly to international markets on a JetBlue reservation.
South African Airways currently serves 58 destinations with a schedule of 297,413 weekly seats. From Johannesburg, the carrier flies to 52 destinations, 48 of which are within Africa. This offers JetBlue passengers access to a wide range of destinations not only in South Africa, but the whole of the African continent.
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