SAA is to launch its first
new route since the
implementation of its
turnaround strategy, with flights
to Guangzhou commencing
on September 18. However
it has glossed over the news
that, according to GDS listings,
the route comes along with
a reduction of its flights to
nearby Hong Kong.
SAA says Guangzhou is a
strategic route due to the
manufacturing and trading
businesses to which South
Africans will now have direct
access. Guangzhou is known
as the manufacturing hub
of the world, and formal
and informal traders source
the majority of goods sold
in sub-Saharan Africa from
the province, due to Africa’s
poor manufacturing capacity,
says the airline. It is 120km
northwest of Hong Kong with
a new 45-minute fast train line
linking the two cities.
An airline source said the
flights would operate on
Wednesdays, Fridays and
Sundays, with flight SA288
departing Johannesburg
at 17h55 and arriving in
Guangzhou at 13h35 the
next day. SA289 will depart
from Guangzhou on Mondays,
Thursdays and Saturdays
at 22h25 arriving in JNB at
05h40 the next day. The flight,
the only direct service from SA
to Guangzhou, will be operated
by an A340-400 with a 13-hour
40-minute flight time.
SAA ceo, Vuyani Jarana,
has said that China is South
Africa’s largest trading partner
and that the decision to
launch the route was based on
sound commercial decisions.
However, the release does
not mention that SAA’s
Johannesburg-Hong Kong
flights, which currently operate
six times a week, will be
reduced to four times a week.
Marco Tomasicchio, director
of XL International Travels,
says SAA is alternating flight
dates between the two nearby
cities, with the Guangzhou
service departing from
Johannesburg on Wednesdays,
Fridays and Sundays and the
reduced Hong Kong service
departing from Johannesburg
on Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays.
“Adding a direct service to
mainland China, combined with
our current popular flights to
Hong Kong, provides SAA with
immense growth opportunities
to and from mainland China. It
also gives our traders access
to the centre of Chinese
manufacturing,” Vuyani said.
An airline source who
wished to remain anonymous
said Guangzhou was easily
accessible from Hong Kong,
adding that many other
carriers including Singapore
Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qatar,
Emirates, Kenya Airways and
Ethiopian Airlines all linked
South Africa with Guangzhou
from their respective hubs.
“This decision must be
political,” she said.
Marco agreed asking if
there was any justification
for SAA to have flights to two
airports that are so close
together. “It seems that they
are trying to take advantage
of Hong Kong as a hub to
Asia for both corporate and
leisure travellers while at
the same time trying to lure
more corporate travellers
through the direct flight to
Guangzhou. We will have to
wait to see whether this can
be achieved without a daily
schedule.”
This is not SAA’s first
attempt at linking South
Africa with mainland
China. It launched direct
flights to Beijing in early
2012 but the route was
cancelled by acting ceo, Nico
Bezuidenhout, in April 2015.
At the time, Nico confirmed
that the route had made
an estimated R1bn loss
over the three-year period.
In early 2019 SAA told
media that its only profitable
international route was
Washington.
SAA says it has interline
agreements with China
Southern Airlines, China
Eastern, Air China and
Hainan Airlines. A codeshare
agreement between SAA
and Hong Kong Airlines is
also anticipated to be put in
place this year for customers
travelling beyond Hong Kong.
From an inbound perspective
the codeshare will provide
feeder traffic on SAA from
Japan, Korea, the Philippines
and China.
