Emirates’ market share of international flights from South Africa will be stronger than ever from the third quarter of this year.
The airline will introduce a fourth daily Johannesburg flight from the end of October, departing at 09h30 and arriving in Dubai at 19h40.
The flight will be operated by a B777. This will bring the total number of flights to South Africa to seven daily – four to Johannesburg, two to Cape Town and one to Durban – upping capacity to around 2 000 seats from South Africa to Dubai.
According to the Centre for Aviation, Emirates currently has a share of almost 10% of international seat capacity in South Africa, excluding the additional flight. This is followed by British Airways, which holds 8,5%. SAA has 40% of the market.
As it is, European carriers are struggling to compete with their Gulf counterparts. Tamur Goudarzi-Pour, Lufthansa’s new vp for the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Europe, told eTNW that, as a result of competition from Gulf carriers, there was an overcapacity on the SA route. “We are committed to Africa, and plan to stay but we need to look at sensible capacity allocations, particularly in Johannesburg, and ensure we have profitable operations.”
For more on this story, see TNW, July 16.
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