More options to US for SA travellers

SOUTH Africans
travelling to North
America via London
will soon have access
to more than 40 new
destinations in the US,
enhanced connections and
possibly even lower fares.
This comes as a result of
the recently announced
codeshare agreement
between British Airways
and US Airways, which will
initially cover nearly all of
both carriers’ transatlantic
flights.
Ben Greeff, travel
manager of FCm Travel
Solutions, says from a
value-add perspective,
the codeshare agreement
could possibly lead to
more competitive fares.
“At the very least, it will
offer more opportunities to
find a better fare to some
hubs that were only served
by one or two carriers
previously.” Ben adds that
only time will tell whether
these will actually become
available through the
codeshare agreement. “In
my experience, these types
of alignments are aimed
at the corporate traveller
with a deeper pocket than
that of the normal leisure
traveller.”
Dinesh Naidoo, group
operations director of SWG,
says regardless of whether
the fares on the routes
will drop, the codeshare
agreement is great news for
SA travellers as it will open
up more flight options to
the US as well as increase
capacity on many of the
routes.
Ben agrees, saying it will
also allow travellers to
avoid congested hubs, such
as New York JFK or Miami
International. “In principle,
the codeshare agreement
means fewer connections to
get to your final destination,
fewer airports, fewer airport
taxes, and a greater chance
to use frequent flyer miles
to destinations that were
previously not served by
British Airways,” he says.
There are other carriers
that offer great options into
the US already, says Rod
Rutter, coo of XL Travel,
such as the partnerships
between SAA and United
and Virgin Atlantic and
Delta. “BA has the
advantage of being the
biggest carrier in the UK but
SAA, on the other hand, is
the biggest carrier in South
Africa. Obviously, the BA-US
partnership offers a huge
opportunity when it comes
to the size of the carriers
but it doesn’t necessarily
offer the best price option
for SA travellers.”
BA and US said in
a statement: “Bigger
is definitely better for
transatlantic travellers, now
that BA’s joint business
agreement with American
Airlines has been extended
to include American’s
merger partner, US
Airways.” The statement
further outlines that
customers will be able to
mix and match airlines and
book through one easy
transaction. Schedules will
also be improved through
timetable co-ordination and
an increased range of hubto-hub
flows.
The codeshare is being
launched in a phased
approach, and BA
customers are now able
to book flights on US to
Charlotte and Philadelphia
from 17 European
destinations. The remaining
flights in the codeshare will
be implemented in phases,
with all destinations to be
included by the end of the
European summer.