South African Airways has announced that it will be launching four new routes. The airline will begin offering flights to Blantyre's Chileka International Airport (BLZ) and Lilongwe's Kamuzu International Airport (LLW) in Malawi. It will also offer flights to Windhoek's Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) in Namibia and Victoria Falls Airport (VFA) in Zimbabwe. These routes are all set to be opened before the festive season beginning in December.

Expanding network

The additional routes were announced on November 2nd, along with the announcement that several routes the airline currently operates will receive added flight frequency. South African Airways will increase the number of weekly flights to Cape Town, Accra, Harare, Durban, Lusaka, Kinshasa, and Mauritius. The increased flight frequencies and added routes are a part of the airline's pandemic recovery plan. They represent the second phase of the airline's "Post-COVID Restart Operation," which started over one year ago.

Airline executives have stated that this new expansion shows that the company is progressing with its recovery plans. The CEO and Executive Chairman of South African Airways, John Lamola, shared how the airline is vital to the South African Economy. He went on to state that the new routes would greatly benefit that economy. Lamola stated,

"SAA, as a buoyant national airline, has an important enabling role in the South African economy. Those routes and frequencies that are not part of SAA's medium-term plans will progressively be released to the Council for the benefit of the industry."

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Right to routes

According to the International Air Services Council (IASC), the airline retains all its historical route traffic rights after terminating multiple routes voluntarily. The right to fly the routes it is not currently operating will allow the airline to reopen these services in the coming years. In 2023, it plans to relaunch services to several regional routes it serviced before the pandemic. It is also looking to launch its first post-restart intercontinental route in early 2023.

Shrinking network

Since South African Airways restarted operations over a year ago, it has struggled to sustain current operations. In late September, the airline lost rights to 20 international destinations. These destinations had not been served by the airline since March 2020. The IASC determined that the airline was not in a position to service these routes. The decision to revoke the airline's 20 international licenses has opened doors for other airlines to meet this demand. This left the South African air carrier with only 32 international destinations it could service and a significant gap in the African international air transit market.

The recent announcement that the IASC re-granted the airline rights to these routes came after a lengthy discussion between the parties. South African Airways argued that the routes went unserved due to a lack of funding during the pandemic and company restructuring. It told the IASC that in accordance with its recovery plans, it would soon restart many of these routes as it rebuilds its international network.

What do you think of these new routes? Let us know in the comments below.

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  South African Airways

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  SA/SAA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Johannesburg Airport

  Year Founded:

  1934

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  CEO:

  Thomas Kgokolo

  Country:

  South Africa