‘New options’ for SA pax
THE long-standing
agreement between SAA
and Qantas is coming to
an end later this month but
industry experts don’t believe
it will have much impact on the
market.
Since February 21, it has not
been permitted to sell SAA’s
codeshare flights on Qantas’s
Sydney operation for travel
after June 1. This follows a
ruling by regulators not to
extend the codeshare between
the two carriers beyond
December. According to Michi
Messner, Qantas regional
manager Africa, a decision
was made to “wind up” the
services earlier so that Qantas
could create new options for
customers travelling from
Johannesburg to Perth.
Michi says: “South Africa
remains a key market for
Qantas and we will continue
to operate daily services
between Johannesburg and
Sydney with convenient
onward connections to
Australian domestic points
and to New Zealand. We also
offer competitive fares out of
other domestic points within
South Africa, the most popular
of which are Cape Town and
Durban.”
According to Michi, there
has been no effect since
codeshare sales were halted.
“Demand across all three
cabins remains very popular
and we continue to see solid
forward bookings across all
travel groups.”
Tlali Tlali, spokesperson
for SAA, says the end of the
codeshare agreement means
SAA will provide travellers
between Australia and South
Africa improved connectivity
choices. “Passengers will be
able to connect out of Perth
to Melbourne, Brisbane and
Adelaide initially,” he said.
“We have seen a positive
impact on the SAA-operated
flights,” he added, pointing out
that current capacity deployed
by SAA was in line with
demand on the route.
Wendy Goutier, product
and contract executive, Far
East, India, Australia and
New Zealand for Thompsons
Holidays, also doesn’t believe
the end of the codeshare will
have a major impact. “Many
people travel via the East as
they have good fares and also
flights into different cities such
as Brisbane and Melbourne.
You do not have to fly into or
out of Perth or Sydney and
many South Africans have
family in these other centres.”
Michi told TNW there were
options for customers to travel
on Emirates services from
Johannesburg, Cape Town and
Durban to Dubai, with onward
connections to three daily
Qantas codeshare services
operated by Emirates to Perth.
“Passengers will also have the
option of travelling to Perth via
Sydney,” she added.
Last year Qantas and
Emirates entered into a
partnership in which the two
airlines aligned fares and
codeshared on certain flights.
According to Qantas’s website,
Qantas and Emirates now fly
14 times a day from Australia
to Dubai and offer the largest
shared A380 network.
With that partnership in
place, there is a question of
whether Qantas will continue
to serve Johannesburg
directly. But Michi says the
airline is staying put. “South
Africa continues to be a key
market, particularly with our
business travellers and we
are comfortable with the
daily services available from
Johannesburg to Sydney,” she
says.
Michi adds that Qantas
continues to be the only
carrier to operate nonstop
services between
Johannesburg and Sydney.
“Our flying time of 11
hours 50 minutes from
Johannesburg to Sydney is
the most convenient option
for customers and we offer
competitive fares on our direct
services.
“We are seeing an increase
in demand for travel from
other domestic points
on our direct services, in
particular Cape Town and
Durban, to Australia and we
offer good connections with
domestic add-on carriers with
competitive through fares.”
More than a VFR destination
TRADITIONALLY a popular
option for the visiting
friends and relatives (VFR)
market, Australia seems to
be increasingly attracting
travellers from different
segments in South Africa.
Matthew Simpson,
group marketing manager
at Holiday Holdings,
representing Hertz
International, says figures
show that travel to
Australia is on the increase,
especially in the last 12
months. He adds that the
most popular destinations
are Perth, Sydney and
Brisbane.
According to Sally George,
market development
manager at Singapore
Airlines, the majority of the
airline’s clients who are
travelling to Australia are
VFR, but there are some
corporates.
Michi Messner says
current trends indicate that
South African travellers are
keen to explore alternative
destinations as opposed to
traditional ones.
“Although there is
no Australian tourism
representation in SA
we continue to look at
innovative ways to attract
leisure travellers. We
continue to see good
demand from VFR travellers
from both Australia and
South African points of
sale,” she says adding that
Qantas has a good mix
of travellers covering VFR,
leisure and corporate travel.
Similarly, Tlali Tlali says
the customer mix for travel
to Australia comprises
corporate, leisure and VFR
traffic and has a consistent
year-round demand.
Wendy Goutier says, while
there has been renewed
interest in Australia, the high
costs tend to put people off.
Wendy believes that even
though Australia is very
popular with the VFR market,
there are still opportunities
for travel agents to increase
their earnings.
“We do see breakaways
and four-night city packages
being requested prior to
visiting family. The travel
trade has an opportunity
to push these as well as
day tours and train trips.
The costs, whether bought
here or in Australia, are the
same price and this way the
client can budget and pay
for these prior to arrival at
the destination and not incur
any additional costs or ROE
changes,” she explains.
Singapore Airlines offers add-ons for Oz flights
SELLING Australia and New
Zealand to South African
travellers has become easier,
says Sally George, due to
the Virgin Australia add-ons
available through Singapore
Airlines.
Sally highlights some of the
advantages of the Singapore
Airlines/SilkAir Virgin Australia
add-ons:
Guaranteed pricing as all
fares are filed in the GDS;
Simple three-step booking
process;
Singapore Airlines/SilkAir
fare rules all the way;
Most direct and convenient
routes to more than 40
Australian cities and New
Zealand points;
Trans-Tasman (AustraliaNew
Zealand) connections
included.
Exploring more options
SA travellers can also travel to
Australia via the East, which
Sally says is a popular option.
She says stopping over in
Singapore to spend a few
nights exploring the sights
and sounds is not uncommon.
“The journey is also short
compared with travelling via
the Middle Eastern carriers.”
According to Sally, Singapore
Airlines and its regional wing,
SilkAir, operate to six cities in
Australia. Singapore Airlines
operates to Adelaide 10 times
a week, Brisbane 21 times a
week, Melbourne 28 times a
week, Perth 28 times a week
and Sydney 28 times a week.
SilkAir operates to Darwin four
times a week.
For more information, check
Travelinfo.
Did you know?
Singapore Airlines offers a Visit Australia Air Pass
in conjunction with Virgin Australia. The pass gives
passengers travelling to Australia flexible access to the
country’s main destinations across Virgin Australia’s
domestic network on one ticket, with terminal transfers,
in-flight entertainment and meals included. With over 80
city pairs to choose from, and the option to stop over in
each city, travellers can devote as much as time they like
to discovering each point on the air pass itinerary.
Road tripping in Australia
ACCORDING to Tourism
Australia, driving is one of the
best ways to see Australia’s
wide-open spaces and
magnificent scenery.
Self-driving also makes
sense for those who wish
to combine more than one
Australian city. Matthew
Simpson, group marketing
manager at Holiday
Holdings, representing Hertz
International, says: “Due to
the extensive travelling time
between South Africa and
Australia it is quite common
for travellers to combine
cities to break up their trip.
This is especially true for
South Africans visiting the
east coast, who will often
overnight in either Perth or
Sydney before continuing on.”
Matthew says the data shows
that a large portion of the
rentals are long-term bookings
of 10 days or more.
According to Sally George,
the most popular destinations
for South Africans are Sydney,
Brisbane and Melbourne.
She says the majority travel
to one city only but some do
travel into one city and
out of another.
According to Tourism
Australia, driving around the
country is easy on most
routes, but travellers need to
be prepared for the distances,
road rules, 4WD tracks and
outback roads.
It provides the following road
safety tips:
Driving is on the left.
Seatbelts must always be
worn when driving by all
those in the car. Children
under seven years old
must be in a child restraint
appropriate for their size
and weight.
The journey should be
planned to include several
rest breaks and to ensure
there is enough petrol
available along the way.
Rest areas are located every
80-100km on main highways
and roads.
Driving in remote areas
could require special driving
skills and awareness of
different road conditions. A
spare tyre, tools and extra
water should always be
carried.
Australia is known for its
extreme weather conditions
such as flooding, bushfires
or cyclones. A trip should
always be planned in
advance, taking weather
conditions into account.
Drivers need to watch
out for wildlife such as
kangaroos, emus, wombats
and koalas.
Many of Australia’s
motorways around major
cities are toll roads. Some
are fully electronic so
travellers are required to
use an electronic tag or
pass. The pass can be
arranged before embarking
on the trip or up to three
days after using the road.
Outback touring with Hertz
WHILE most hired cars
feature cupholders and
Bluetooth, Hertz’s Outback
Collection has air snorkels,
bull bars and tents.
With the tagline ‘fully
equipped for camping’,
Hertz encourages more
adventurous travellers
to explore the parts of
Australia they could never
reach before.
Hertz’s Toyota LandCruiser
Wagon comes with a prepacked
boot with sleeping
bags, mattresses, cookers,
pots, pans, tables and a
tent – everything needed
for exploring the outback.
The vehicle also offers five
seats, manual transmission,
air-conditioning, dual airbags
and an anti-locking braking
system.
