UNITED Airlines will be
coming back to Cape
Town for a second
seasonal service in 2020/21,
the exact start date of which
will be announced in due
course.
This was confirmed by
United’s vice president of
international planning, Patrick
Quayle, at the start of the
airline’s first four-month,
thrice-weekly service between
Cape Town and Newark. The
first B787-9 Dreamliner flight
carrying a full load of 252
passengers touched down at
Cape Town International Airport
on December 16.
Wesgro ceo Tim Harris hailed
the non-stop flight a “gamechanger”, “hugely strategic”
and the biggest feat yet for the
province’s five-year-old public/
private air access partnership.
He said bookings for the first
season were looking strong.
He said Wesgro was working
with the airline to increase
frequencies, going year-round.
“United could not be here if
it wasn’t for the partnership
that the Western Cape
government put together to
make this flight a success,”
said Patrick. “The team here
really understood that this is
about a long-term partnership.
When you fly ultra-long-haul
missions in an area that has
no similar air service, it is
risky, there is not a lot of data,
so what’s really special about
Wesgro and United is that we
work together to make sure it’s
a joint success.”
United estimates there
is a market for 237 000
passengers on the route
(both directions) or 118 000
annual round-trips per year.
The first outbound flight from
Cape Town to Newark was
almost full, said Patrick, with
two-thirds of all passengers
connecting from Newark to
63 cities across the US. In
total, United offers 80 nonstop
US connections via Newark.
He said large SA expat
communities in United’s hubs
of New York, Chicago, Los
Angeles and San Francisco
also make the route viable.
Jackie Adami, md of
Development Promotions,
United’s long-time local GSA,
said forward bookings were
looking good. “It’s really taking
off, so we are very excited,”
she told TNW.
SA Tourism head of North
America, Jerry Mpufane, said
a collaborative marketing
partnership between Cape
Town Tourism and NYC
& Company continued to
promote the route in both
markets. “We all want to see
this becoming a permanent
route, so we have to work hard
to make it happen.”
United commits to next season
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