South African Airways plans to pull out of India

Out of the airline’s 10 international routes, seven are loss making, and Mumbai ranks fifth.

South African Airways (SAA) is understood to have decided to pull out of India by March end due to financial losses.

The airline is likely to stop operating its direct flight linking Johannesburg to Mumbai, its only flight to India, from March 28, according to people familiar with the development. SAA’s country manager declined to comment. The airline has been flying to India for 19 years.

From March 29, SAA is expected to operate a flight in code share with Etihad Airways, and will fly up to Abu Dhabi, instead of Mumbai, travel industry officials said.

The airline’s management has decided to stop flying in loss making routes, and, thus, India faces the axe. Out of the airline’s ten international routes, seven are loss making, and Mumbai ranks fifth.

SAA has been curtailing the number of flights to India. Last year there was a daily flight to Mumbai, which has now been cut down to five flights a week. From February 9, the number of flights will be reduced to three a week, before the airline completely pulls out in March.

The Mumbai flight is being taken away from the network despite it operating with a seat load factor of 82-88 per cent, according to travel industry officials.

“It is unfair to pull out suddenly without giving sufficient notice. Booking is open till November, and we have booked thousands of seats. What will happen to our clients? We may have to suffer severe financial losses. If they want to exit, they should do it by this year end,” said a travel agent.