South African Airways is looking at expanding its footprint in India in line with rise in passenger traffic between India and South Africa. The airline, which currently operates a daily direct service between Johannesburg and Mumbai, may consider a direct flight to Delhi if the passenger numbers grow sharply.
“For South African Airways, India is a key market in our overall growth strategy. The number of travellers from India to South Africa is on a rise. And, last year around 130,000 people travelled from India. This number is not sufficient to justify another aircraft. But we want to expand. We are looking forward to it, and the next destination should be Delhi. We are waiting for the growth in the number to happen,” said Sajid Khan, Country Manager (India), South African Airways.
“Since we are the only airline that operates direct daily flights on the Mumbai-Johannesburg route, we enjoy healthy load factors. Our code share agreement with Jet Airways and Air India is helping us expand our reach in the country,” he added.
Jet Airways had pulled out from this route a few years ago owing to low load factor. Meanwhile, South African Airways has decided to reduce the frequency of the Mumbai service from seven to six per week starting July 1, as it has embarked on a fleet replacement programme.
“Though we are reducing one flight, we will continue to maintain the capacity share on the route by deploying a bigger gauge aircraft (A340-300 with 253 seats instead of A330-200 with 222 seats),” Mr. Khan said.
“This move is temporary and dictated by aircraft availability due to planned changes in the wide-body fleet. Daily operations will resume within the next financial year,” he added.
A stronger Indian rupee against South African Rand is prompting many Indians to visit there. South Africa is seeing a mix of travellers from India, including honeymooners, adventure enthusiasts, wine lovers and those looking for a peaceful sojourn.
“Of late, we have also seen the emergence of a new category of travellers, called ‘Buddymooners’, a group of honeymooners travelling together,” Mr. Khan said.
