SAA Expands its African Reach

South African Airways (SAA) has further enhanced its African network with the addition of the Central African city of Point Noire in the Republic of the Congo. The airline inaugurated twice weekly flights from Johannesburg on January 26, 2012; its fourth new destination on the Continent in the 2011/2012 financial year following Bujumbura in Burundi, Kigali in Rwanda and Ndola in Zambia.

Pointe Noire is the second largest city in the Congo, after the capital Brazzaville and the main commercial centre of the country. Pointe Noire is the center of the oil industry in the Congo which is one of the main oil producers in Central Africa. SAA does not currently serve any other points in the country, although Interair does provide twice weekly flights between Johannesburg and Brazzaville.

SAA plans to significantly expand its reach across Africa. It now offers links to 21 destinations in the Continent but plans to add additional flights in the coming months. It plans to increase its passenger numbers by 37 per cent over the coming three years and by 2015 plans to almost double its fleet to 94 aircraft.

In the past year an estimated 40.58 million O&D passengers travelled within Africa. SAA already dominates this market with a 16.2 per cent share of the traffic, a long way ahead of its closest rivals EgyptAir (6.1 per cent), Arik Air (5.8 per cent), Kulula.com (5.0 per cent) and Kenya Airways (4.8 per cent).