THE number of
transatlantic flights has
escalated in the last few
years with the wave of airline
consolidation in the US and
the evolution of joint venture
partnerships.
While some partnerships
have been around for a while,
there have recently been
expanded joint ventures,
mergers and new participants
in the market, the most
interesting being the entry of
low-cost carriers.
In one of the most recent
developments, International
Airlines Group’s British Airways
and Iberia’s joint venture
partnership with American
Airlines has been extended to
include AA’s merger partner,
US Airways, increasing the
partnership’s daily flight
options between the UK and
US to 70, and to 16 between
Spain and North America.
US Airways brings an
additional 28 transatlantic
routes into the joint business,
of which 27 are new, giving
BA and Iberia customers
access to more than 50 new
destinations in North America.
Further, Delta Air Lines’
recent purchase of Singapore
Airlines’ 49% stake in Virgin
Atlantic has been described by
Jimmy Eichelgruen, Delta Air
Lines’ director: sales – Africa
Middle East & Indian Sub
Continent, as a game-changer,
transforming the airline’s ability
to compete on transatlantic
routes from the UK.
“Heathrow Airport is
extremely important. London
is the largest transatlantic
destination from the US and
eight of the top-10 most
popular transatlantic flights
operate from or to LondonHeathrow.
So gaining access
was critical for our UK to North
America offering. Business
customers on the London-New
York route now finally have real
choice, resulting in improved
schedule flexibility and better
services. It means we now
have a strong number-two
position out of London.” (The
BA/AA/US Airways partnership
holds top spot.)
Delta’s joint venture with Air
France KLM and Alitalia adds
strength to the relationship,
offering even more options
for customers flying via
Paris Charles de Gaulle or
Amsterdam Schiphol. In total,
the partnership accounts
for about a quarter of all
transatlantic capacity, says
Jimmy.
Delta and Virgin Atlantic also
have a joint venture, with 33
flights daily across the Atlantic,
including seven from Heathrow
to JFK and two from Heathrow
to Newark.
Low-cost carrier, Norwegian
Air Shuttle, launched services
from Gatwick to New York, Los
Angeles and Fort Lauderdale
in the first week of July. The
carrier also operates services
from Oslo, Stockholm, Bergen
and Copenhagen to various US
destinations.
Simon Newton-Smith, Virgin
Atlantic head of Middle East
and Africa, says the fact that
there is so much activity in the
transatlantic market is a good
sign that it has rebounded
following the global financial
crisis.
“The 2008 and 2009 years
were particularly challenging
for the transatlantic market,
because it is so much
dominated by business traffic.
Last year was a stellar year
and, although growth this year
has not been quite as much,
we’ve started seeing a solid
recovery.”
Lufthansa is also a
significant player on the
transatlantic, through its joint
venture with United Airlines
and Air Canada.
Nils Haupt, director of
communications for Lufthansa
in the Americas says when
including the airline’s other.
joint venture partners SWISS,
Brussels Airlines and Austrian
Airlines, Lufthansa and United
Airlines’ share of the transatlantic
market stands at about 35%.
He says Middle Eastern carriers
such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar
Airways and Turkish Airlines are
also increasing their transatlantic
services, opening up new US
destinations and continuing to add
capacity in the market, as will the
Asian carriers.
But, adds Nils, while North Atlantic
and South American routes have
been very profitable for most airlines,
some weaknesses are developing
due to over-capacity in the market,
leading to lower prices. He foresees
some carriers withdrawing from
the transatlantic market as this
environment becomes more difficult
to operate in, and instead seeking
out more attractive markets in Asia,
Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Further, he does not foresee
Norwegian or any other low-cost
carrier making a success of long-haul
routes, or causing a price war, as
their market share, he says, is just
too low. “Low-cost carriers in this
market have never proved successful.
The big price advantage that low-cost
carriers can achieve on short-haul is
more difficult on long-haul because
of the high fuel consumption, which
sees cost efficiencies melting away.”
Simon says airlines that operate
on the transatlantic route are used
to healthy competition. “It’s a very
competitive market and we’ve seen
airlines come and go.”
Although he does not have a solid
opinion on how successful Norwegian
Air Shuttle will be, he says it is very
difficult to imagine how much cost
low-cost airlines can strip out of
long-haul flights with fuel being the
overriding cost. “So I think there are
challenges to the low-cost, long-haul
model,” he says.
Luxurious bedding for BusinessElite passengers
DELTA Air Lines has introduced Westin
Heavenly In-Flight bedding products on
its daily Johannesburg/Atlanta flights.
Margaret Copeland, Delta Air Lines
commercial director: Southern Africa
and Angola, says business-class
passengers are enjoying the new
duvets and pillows. The Economy
Comfort seats are also proving
very popular on the Johannesburg
route. Delta’s Johannesburg-Atlanta
flights offer connections to more
than 200 destinations in the US,
Canada, Mexico, and Central America.
From the UK, the airline also offers
seamless connections across the
Atlantic with its joint-venture partner,
Virgin Atlantic. Together, the two
carriers operate 33 daily transatlantic
flights and recently launched daily
services between Heathrow and
Seattle-Tacoma.
Delta and Virgin jointly operate nine
daily London-New York flights. Delta
also began year-round services from
Zurich to New York in June, and now
serves 14 of the top 15 US to EMEA
business markets direct.
In October, the carrier will launch its
first direct services between LondonHeathrow
and Los Angeles when it
swaps one of its three Atlanta-London
flights with one of Virgin Atlantic’s two
Los Angeles flights. The two airlines
will codeshare on the routes.
Delta will also codeshare with Virgin
Atlantic on the summer seasonal
services it is launching next year from
Belfast to Orlando and from Glasgow
to Las Vegas.
joint venture partners SWISS,
Brussels Airlines and Austrian
Airlines, Lufthansa and United
Airlines’ share of the transatlantic
market stands at about 35%.
He says Middle Eastern carriers
such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar
Airways and Turkish Airlines are
also increasing their transatlantic
services, opening up new US
destinations and continuing to add
capacity in the market, as will the
Asian carriers.
But, adds Nils, while North Atlantic
and South American routes have
been very profitable for most airlines,
some weaknesses are developing
due to over-capacity in the market,
leading to lower prices. He foresees
some carriers withdrawing from
the transatlantic market as this
environment becomes more difficult
to operate in, and instead seeking
out more attractive markets in Asia,
Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Further, he does not foresee
Norwegian or any other low-cost
carrier making a success of long-haul
routes, or causing a price war, as
their market share, he says, is just
too low. “Low-cost carriers in this
market have never proved successful.
The big price advantage that low-cost
carriers can achieve on short-haul is
more difficult on long-haul because
of the high fuel consumption, which
sees cost efficiencies melting away.”
Simon says airlines that operate
on the transatlantic route are used
to healthy competition. “It’s a very
competitive market and we’ve seen
airlines come and go.”
Although he does not have a solid
opinion on how successful Norwegian
Air Shuttle will be, he says it is very
difficult to imagine how much cost
low-cost airlines can strip out of
long-haul flights with fuel being the
overriding cost. “So I think there are
challenges to the low-cost, long-haul
model,” he says.
Mixed fortunes for TOs since SAA dropped Buenos Aires
TOUR operators report mixed
fortunes since SAA cancelled its
flights to Buenos Aires on March 31.
Sarah Whiteside, Travel Vision
sales and marketing manager,
says the tour operator was very
disappointed with the cancellation.
“South America had been our
strongest growth region for the past
two years, growing by more than 80%
a year for two consecutive years.
Although there are still options for
clients to reach South America
through the São Paulo hub, we have
seen a 60% decline in our South
America revenue so far this year.”
She says the World Cup did not
bring an increase in South Africans
travelling to Brazil with Travel Vision.
“We do not sell sports packages so
our Brazil figures for the year have
decreased due to the present huge
inflation of prices in Brazil.”
Angela Wood, Thompsons Holidays
gm – marketing, also reports a
decline in travellers to South America
since the demise of Malaysia
Airlines’ and now SAA’s flights to
Buenos Aires. Packages to South
America have become less appealing
because of the hike in hotel costs
and the high rand/dollar exchange
rate. The World Cup, says Angela,
also did not attract significant
interest. “Packages were not cheap
and fans probably lost interest when
SA failed to qualify. But as the World
Cup progressed we saw increased
interest, which hopefully will continue
over the next year.”
Cathleen Dennis, reservations
manager at Lu Dowell
Representations, which represents
a number of carriers, says South
Africans are still travelling to
Buenos Aires through TAM Airlines’
codeshare with SAA, with fares to
Buenos Aires common-rated with
those to São Paulo. “So airfare
costs have not affected the market
much and we’ve seen a 37%
increase in sales from February
to June 2014, compared with the
same period in 2013.” She says the
biggest obstacle to selling Argentina
in 2013 was the prohibitive cost
of land arrangements. “But these
have since come down and it is
once again very affordable for South
Africans to travel there.”
Theresa Szejwallo, md of Trafalgar,
reports a ‘very pleasing increase’
in travellers choosing Trafalgar’s
South American itineraries. “To avoid
the issue of SAA no longer flying
to Argentina, we offer wonderful
guided holidays that start in Brazil
and connect onwards. A big plus is
our inclusion of all internal flights
within South America as part of the
package price, a massive saving for
our travellers due to our immense
buying power,” she says.
So where are South Africans
travelling to in South America?
According to Thompsons Holidays,
Travel Vision and Lu Dowell
Representations, they’re visiting
Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina with
Iguassu Falls, Machu Picchu and
cruises out of Ushuaia all popular.
Cathleen says there are seamless
connections from São Paulo to Lima,
Santiago and Buenos Aires.
Great new US and Canada itineraries
TRAGALGAR’S 2015 USA
and Canada brochure
has a host of new guided
holidays among 47 different
itineraries featured.
There are also more than
100 Insider Experiences
on offer that take clients
deep within a destination to
places only known to locals.
The new guided holidays
for 2015 are:
Newfoundland & Labrador
(11 days – R42 900pps).
This tour journeys into
Canada’s less-explored
areas.
Secrets of the Old South
(eight days – R27 100
pps). The tour delves into
the US’s Deep South and
travellers hear tales of the
Civil War and visit a tea
plantation.
Trans-American Grand
Adventure (27 days –
R84 725pps) journeys
from LA to New York,
stopping at the
Yellowstone National Park,
Gettysburg, Winterest
(home to the famous
bridges of Madison
County) and Chicago.
Mexico’s Colonial Cities
& Coastal Cities (10 days
– R25 100pps). Visitors
get to explore the Aztec
empire, discover Mexico’s
great colonial cities and
enjoy a Be My Guest
dinner at a 17th century
colonial mansion.
Natural Wonders of Costa
Rica (eight days –
R19 500pps). Travellers
participate in intimate
encounters with the
people and nature of
Costa Rica and lunch at an
eco-friendly hacienda and
organic farm.
Travellers booking before
November 27 get a discount
of up to 10%, which is also
combinable with Trafalgar’s
Frequent Traveller, second
trip and family and friends
discounts.
With Trafalgar having
included all internal flights
in its South American
packages, it is enabling
travellers to see more South
American sights on a single
tour by saving time.
Trafalgar’s pre- and postextension
tours in South
America are a fantastic
way to see more of a
destination, says Theresa
Szejwallo. “I travelled
on Trafalgar’s Best of
South America at Leisure
tour, enjoying extensive
sightseeing in Rio, the
Iguassu Falls, Buenos
Aires and Santiago and
then a four-day optional
extension to Easter Island
that was outstanding. One
of my favourite sightseeing
options was a guided trip
to the favelas of Rio, with
a ‘behind-the-scenes’ view
of the favelas and how they
started.”
Cruise the Amazon with Thompsons
THOMPSONS Holidays is
offering a five-night cruise
aboard Amazon Clipper
Cruises’ Premium Fleet
boats for US$1 986,25pps
(R22 571).
The itinerary includes
a canoe ride on Brazil’s
Janauaca Lake where
there’s a possibility of
viewing the Pink river
dolphins and a large
number of birds.
The ‘Meeting of the
Waters’, where the clear
waters of the Amazon
meet the muddy waters of
the Rio Negro, is another
highlight.
Travellers will also
enjoy forest walks, visit
Anavilhanas National Park
– one of the world’s largest
fresh water archipelagos
– meet the rainforest’s
local inhabitants and enjoy
lectures about Amazon
ecology and preservation.
The Amazon Clipper
Premium Fleet boats offer
spacious outside cabins
with twin beds. The airconditioned
boats have
a viewing deck and can
access small landings.
Canoes are used for visits
ashore and into lagoons,
narrow channels and
flooded areas of the jungle.
The rate incudes full
board, daily tours, pick-up
and drop-off at the Tropical
Manaus pier and an
English-speaking guide
