WHEN SAA released its 2018
corporate fares roughly a year
ago, they reflected significantly
reduced discount levels. At the
time, SAA ceo, Vuyani Jarana,
met with travel industry leaders
to advise them that SAA
needed to increase its yield
from this sector.
A year later, agents report an
ongoing corporate market shift
away from SAA. Voyager is also
no longer the drawcard it used
to be, say some agents.
Priti Ramkissoon, coo of
Thompsons Travel, said SAA
was battling to maintain
corporate market share
against the lower priced
Middle Eastern carriers on
international routes. Locally,
she said she had seen a shift
to other airlines that offered
more competitive fares. “We
still have clients who remain
loyal to SAA for Voyager miles
though,” added Priti.
Sailesh Parbhu, md of XL
Nexus Travel, has also noticed
a dip in SAA sales from the
government sector. However
Sailesh feels the main reason
for this was government
departments cutting back
on international travel and
booking further in advance to
take advantage of cheaper
fares. He attributed this to
the implementation of stricter
government travel policies.
Ceo of XL Astra Travel, Albert
Van Zyl, said corporate fare
discounts were not the only
factor accounting for the shift.
He said competitive overrides,
agent commissions, excellent
on-board service, availability,
and staff more open to talking
to agents, had all played a
part in Middle Eastern carriers
narrowing the gap on SAA as
Astra’s top-selling airline.
Marco Cristofoli, ceo of
BCD Travel, agreed that other
factors, including the airline’s
legacy issues and its route
cuts, had also played a part.
“Middle Eastern carriers
continue to gain market
share year after year. Carriers
such as Kenya Airways and
Ethiopian Airlines are also
picking up market share
on regional routes where
SAA is more expensive. We
understand SAA’s need to
increase its yield but at the
end of the day customers are
driven by price,” said Marco.
David Pegg, md of Sure Viva
Travels, said he had heard
that SAA would be reducing
its discounts even further
when its new corporate fares
were released in April. David
felt there was still a market
for the airline’s corporate
products, however, as they
continued to offer clients a lot
of flexibility for date changes
and cancellations.
However Albert and Marco
felt that while the Voyager
programme had always been
a big driver in the past, its
popularity could only take the
airline so far, at a time when
corporates were being forced
to examine their costs closely
and when Voyager miles were
becoming increasingly difficult
to redeem.
