ON MARCH 25, Singapore
Airlines celebrated 25
years of serving Cape
Town by treating its
passengers to breakfast
and cake at its departure
gates at Cape Town
International Airport.
Manager Cape
Provinces, Marco
Giarrizzo, told TNW: “We
are here to stay for at
least another 25 years or
more!” The airline serves
Cape Town daily yearround via Johannesburg
using a new Airbus
A350. Marco said both
the Johannesburg and
Cape Town legs of the
route were performing
“extremely well”. “The
flights are constantly full
every month.” He said
a non-stop flight from
Cape Town would be nice
to have in future. He
said the Johannesburg
and Cape Town legs
complemented each
other, with Johannesburg
attracting more premium
passengers, while Cape
Town was more leisure
dominated.
On March 31 it added
three night flights a week
between Johannesburg
and Singapore, with
departures timed to
facilitate business
travellers. This brings to
10 its weekly frequencies
to/from South Africa
(seven of which continue
to Cape Town).
Cape Town Air Access
project manager, Paul van
den Brink, commended
Singapore Airlines for its
commitment to the Cape
and expressed hope for a
non-stop service in future.
He said other Asian
destinations experiencing
growth on the Cape Town
route included Japan,
Thailand, Vietnam and
Indonesia. “Hopefully we
can grow those markets
together with an airline in
future.”
Cape Town International
Airport spokesperson,
Deidré Davids, said
Singapore Airlines’
commitment was not
taken for granted.
“As a destination that
is typically seen as
seasonal, this kind of
commitment is very
needed.”
She said Cape Town
Air Access’s strategy
was not only to gain
new routes but also to
grow existing ones and
to support airlines that
made a commitment to
the market.
Deidré said the airport
would be entering an
expansion phase soon.
“We will work hard to
limit negative impact on
operations.”
