Emirates and fastjet join forces

EMIRATES plans to expand
its footprint in Africa
by partnering with LCC
fastjet. The airlines have
announced a sales and
distribution agreement, which
allows Emirates’ passengers
to book fastjet tickets through
Emirates’ sales channels.
 “This agreement will give
Emirates’ customers access
to onward points in fastjet’s
Africa network, such as
Lilongwe, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza
and Mbeya, amongst others,”
a spokesperson for Emirates
told TNW.
Chief commercial officer of
Fastjet, Richard Bodin, says
he is delighted that a company
of the calibre and size of
Emirates has looked to fastjet
as a partner. “Not only will it
allow us access to the millions
of passengers that Emirates
carries, it is also a significant
validation of our operation,
service and proven low-cost
model.”
The connections between the
two airlines are very smooth,
Richard says. “We serve our
main trunk route destinations
so frequently that there was
no need to change times.”
The agreement will be hugely
beneficial to both airlines,
Richard says. “Emirates is not
only looking at increasing its
footprint into Africa but is also
looking to boost traffic from
Africa to and through Dubai.”
Richard predicts that the
routes to and from Dar es
Salaam into Africa will be
in high demand. Emirates
already flies daily to Dar es
Salaam, with high demand
for destinations such as
Kilimanjaro and Mwanza.
Fastjet’s Zimbabwean
operation is also likely to be
popular. Fastjet Zimbabwe
officially received its Air
Operating Certificate from the
Zimbabwe CAA earlier this
month. Its first route linking
Harare and Victoria Falls wil
launch on October 28.
The airline will initially operate
on Wednesdays, Fridays, and
Sundays, using an A319.
Other international
operations are on the cards
in the near future, including
Zambia, Kenya and South
Africa. Richard says: “It would
be almost inconceivable to
have a pan-African carrier
without having a base in
South Africa,” adding that
fastjet continues to explore
possibilities of establishing an
SA-based airline.
Fastjet flies daily DAR-JNB,
with plans to launch HREJNB.
“We’re also looking
at introducing flights from
Harare to Johannesburg,
Durban and probably Cape
Town. When we open our
operations in Zambia, we’re
looking to connect Lusaka with
Johannesburg and Durban,”
Richard says.