Agents in a tizz over SAA long-haul cut-backs

SAA’s decision to reduce
flights on two of its
most prominent longhaul
routes, London and
Perth, at short notice has left
agents with no option but to
change dates or book other
carriers.
SAA is offering affected
passengers only two options
– to be accommodated on
its next available flight or
to apply for a full refund.
The airline is not willing to
accommodate those affected
on other carriers.
At the beginning of the
month, SAA announced that
it would introduce its new
A330-300 on the London
route from March 25 and
adjust frequencies from a
double daily to single daily
service from April 20.
It recently announced
that it would also adjust
frequencies on its Perth
route by cancelling some
flights in February, March,
May and June.
Vicky Steinhardt, product
manager of Pentravel, says
cutting back on these longhaul
routes leaves leisure
agents with very few routes
on which to support SAA.
Andrew Stark, md for Middle
East and Africa of Flight
Centre Travel Group, says he
expected SAA to ask agents
for their opinions before
cutting back on these routes
and that fewer seats out
of the market means fewer
seats to sell.
“Our national carrier is
losing revenue through not
engaging with the industry,”
says Mary Shilleto, ceo of
Thompsons Travel, adding
that TMCs’ revenues have
diminished drastically with
SAA cutting back on flights
and transferring passengers
to Mango.
The cutbacks will also
have a profound impact on
corporates wanting to make
use of SAA’s corporate deals
and get to destinations as
directly as possible, Rolene
Kirkel, VIP commercial
aviation specialist of HRG
Rennies Travel, points out.
For this reason, corporates
that are loyal to Voyager
and corporates’ fares need
to be made aware of the
possibility of last-minute
flight cancellations, says
Siobhan Nel, ITC of Travel
Counsellors.
Rachael Penaluna,
business manager of Sure
Maritime Travel, says London
and Perth are two major
routes for expats and there
will be an issue of overdemand
and under-supply
during peak periods. The
cutback on long-haul flights
also negatively affects
connection times for those
on a domestic flight from
Cape Town or Durban.