AIRLINK will launch a new direct flight
from Cape Town to Victoria Falls on
July 2. The airline will be going head to
head with Kenya Airways, which recently
announced that it would fly from Nairobi
to Cape Town via Victoria Falls effective
May 18 – the only other carrier offering
a direct service between these two
destinations.
Rodger Foster, ceo of Airlink, says
the new route is aimed at local
and international leisure travellers,
hence its launch during peak holiday
season for Victoria Falls. “Our recent
experience of linking Maun with Cape
Town, which has been an enormous
success, has encouraged us to embark
on this new adventure.”
Industry players say it is obvious
airlines want a piece of the
international passenger influx to Cape
Town. “You can clearly see from an
international airline point of view
how lucrative this route is, with many
airlines offering direct flights from
Cape Town to worldwide destinations,
especially given the weak nature of
our currency,” says Marco
Tomasicchio, md of XL
International Travels. He adds
that alleviating the need to
travel via Johannesburg is a
smart move because it cuts
both costs and time.
Sean Hough, ceo of Pentravel
agrees and says he doesn’t
think that Airlink, whose fares
start R9 440 return, including
taxes, will compete with Kenya
Airways, whose fares start at
R5 215 (Cape Town to Victoria
Falls) return, including taxes,
due to differences in aircraft
capacity.
Operated by the Embraer
ERJ-135 with 37 seats, the
new Airlink flight will operate
daily with the exception of
Saturdays, all year round. It
will depart from Cape Town
International at 08h30 to
arrive in Victoria Falls at
11h15. The return flight will
take off from Victoria Falls at
11h45 to land in Cape Town
at 14h40.
