Air Europa’s upcoming Johannesburg-Madrid route is expected to intensify competition on flights to Europe, with agents highlighting its affordable pricing for direct travel to Spain and onward connections into Europe and Latin America.
Candice May, Head of Supply at Travelstart, said bookings on the new route were beginning to pick up as the launch date approached. “Travellers are opting for the convenience of a direct service as well as competitive fares.”
Clients preferred the direct flight to Spain, while others believed that new competition in the European market for South African travellers would be a positive development, said David van den Heever-Liebenberg, Travel Director and Co-Founder at Mr and Mr Jones Boutique Travel Management.
“With our corporates that travel to Spain for business, they usually use Air France KLM because of the flight times, but the costs are become excruciatingly high, with fares ranging over R120 000-R150 000 round trip for one passenger. Having direct flights will not only save them a lot of time, but will certainly bring down their travel costs,” said Van den Heever-Liebenberg.
Given that clients are increasingly opting for European carriers amid the Middle East conflict, he said the introduction of a new airline could help spread demand more evenly across the market.
Reach
Air Europa’s strategic position in the Madrid-Barajas hub provides it with extensive reach throughout Europe and Latin America.
May said the airline positioned itself against other European carriers in terms of size and reach. “They operate to 60 destinations with an extensive network in Spain, Europe and Latin America and have a modern fleet that includes the Boeing 737, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Boeing 737-800.”
“This is an alternative to other airlines, since this airport is a key redistribution hub for access to the European and Latin American market,” said an Air Europa spokesperson. “From Madrid, we can connect South Africa with the 60 destinations we reach globally, providing flexibility and choice.”
The three weekly frequencies launching on June 24 are designed to maximise the opportunities from Madrid in both directions on the route. “This allows us to facilitate connections, even on the same day, and speed up our passengers’ journeys,” said the airline.
Uncertainty
There is some uncertainty around Air Europa’s pricing structure.
“At the moment, you can only issue Air Europa flights as cash tickets in the South African market. They will need to expand their payment acceptance to all major credit cards, otherwise it’s going to drive up the IATA guarantees for those needing to issue cash tickets. This will be prohibitive for those on IATA GoLite, which is the IATA payment solution for independent agents using mostly credit card payments for airline tickets, and not cash tickets,” said Van den Heever-Liebenberg.
According to May, there is limited local brand awareness, which affects both consumer and agent confidence and some agents don’t have ticketing authority. However, with APG South Africa recently appointed as the GSA, this could improve.
She also added that domestic add-on prices, for example flights departing Cape Town or Durban, were extremely expensive.
