Despite operating aircraft with no more than 98 seats, Airlink is South Africa's largest airline by fleet and flights. It is also the third-largest carrier in Africa, with more flights in February than Royal Air Maroc and Kenya Airways. Airlink has benefited from its independence from South African Airways (SAA) while launching multiple new routes due to the decline of its former franchisor.

South Africa's regional operator Airlink became an independent carrier in late 2020 after the long franchise relationship with SAA ended. Airlink has over 5,200 flights in February, according to the latest information from Cirium. While over six in ten flights are domestic and will always be its bread and butter, its growing regional network is critical, including for interlining.

Airlink is now South Africa's largest airline if measured in flights and fleet. According to ch-aviation.com, it has the country's largest fleet – currently 53, plus four Cessna Caravans for its Lodge Link operation.

Although not all aircraft are active, it has six types, including 17 Embraer 135s; 16 Embraer 190s (98 seats); 11 Embraer 140s; six Jetstream 41s; and three Embraer 170s. Its fleet is diverse and complex, but it suggests its disparate network, different sources of revenue, and the degree to which it attempts to right-size (where infrastructure allows).

Airline

Flights in February

Seats in February

Available seat miles in February

% of South Africa's February flights (all airlines serving the country)

37 routes in February

Airlink's 37 routes in February (excluding those by its Cessnas) revolve around thick or reasonably thick airport-pairs. Johannesburg is utterly crucial with eight in ten flights, as vividly shown in the map and the list of most-served routes:

  1. Johannesburg (JNB) to Nelspruit (Kruger; MQP): 266 round-trip flights in February
  2. JNB to Cape Town (CPT): 264
  3. JNB to Port Elizabeth (PLZ): 200
  4. JNB to Pietermaritzburg (PZB): 192
  5. CPT to George (GRJ): 160
  6. JNB to Durban (DUR): 152
  7. JNB to East London (ELS): 152
  8. JNB to Gaborone (GBE): 152
  9. JNB to Harare (HRE): 152
  10. JNB to Lusaka (LUN): 152
  11. JNB to Mthatha (UTT): 152
  12. JNB to Windhoek (WDH): 152

Surprisingly, Johannesburg to Cape Town isn't the carrier's top route. It ranks only fourth by flights on what is Africa's most-served airport-pair. It deploys 98-seat Embraer 190s, sub-optimal for the distance (790 miles, 1,271km) compared with most competitors (B737-800s/400s and A320s/A319s).

While it's from little alternative – the E190 is its largest aircraft – hopefully Airlink benefits from higher unit revenue and seat load factors, offsetting the higher seat-mile costs of its regional jets versus larger narrowbodies. It'd be interesting to see the degree to which it suffers from demand 'spill' (turning away demand due to insufficient capacity), at least in normal times.

Airlink's network in February 2022
Airlink's network in February, showing its growing number of international destinations. Note that Saint Helena isn't operating this month. Image: GCMap.

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The world's 7th longest Embraer 190 route

At 1,821 miles (2,931km), Airlink's longest route is JNB to Entebbe (EBB), serving Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. Effectively replacing SAA, it began on September 19th, 2021, using the E190. Operating outbound on Wednesdays and Sundays, it leaves JNB at 21:15 and arrives in Uganda at 02:30 the following day. Returning, it departs at 03:30 and returns home at 07:00.

It will be the world's seventh-longest non-stop E190 route next month, behind Conviasa from Caracas to Toluca (a whopping 2,254 miles, 3,628km) and Santa Cruz; QantasLink from Canberra to Darwin; Pegas Fly from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Novokuznetsk; Aeromexico's Mexico City to Santo Domingo; and Kenya Airways between Nairobi and Mauritius.

Have you flown Airlink? Share your experiences in the comments.