SA AIRLINK, in a joint
venture with SAA, made
history on August 16
when it launched its inaugural
flight between Pretoria and
Cape Town.
The new route, which
flies between Wonderboom
National Airport and Cape
Town International, will provide
travellers from Pretoria
through to areas such as
Limpopo and even the North
West with a closer and,
arguably, more convenient
access point than OR Tambo.
Around 60% of travellers
who use OR Tambo as their
home base reside closer
to Wonderboom than the
Johannesburg airport, says
Airlink ceo, Rodger Foster. In
light of this, the route
will target a broad spectrum
of travellers, including
business and leisure people.
Rodger notes that two specific
groups of travellers who
will benefit from the route
are academic professionals
(Pretoria and Cape Town are
both university cities) as well
as parliamentarians.
Rodger reveals that initially
take-up on the route was slow,
which he attributes to the
trade’s tendency to support
what they know. “However,
closer to the launch, the
take-up has seen a far more
positive, almost exponential,
increase.
“We will have to see how
things develop,” says Rodger,
noting that Airlink’s primary
objective is to first make sure
the Pretoria-Cape Town route
is working. However, he says
the airline does recognise the
potential of including more
destinations like Durban,
Bloemfontein and Port
Elizabeth.
The Executive Mayor
of Tshwane, Kgosientso
Ramokgopa, says the route
is politically significant, adding
that, when delegates are
required to stay for longer
sessions in parliament they
will be able to get home
quickly from the new access
point.
The city’s aspiration is
to expand Wonderboom’s
network. “We are bullish
about the prospects of this
initiative,” says Kgosientso.
The re-establishment of
flights from Wonderboom
is expected to catalyse a
series of other developments
in the area. “An entire new
aerotropolis will develop
here,” says Gauteng Premier,
David Makhura. He adds
that soon a bus service will
connect Hatfield Station to
the airport. “Ultimately, we
should be connecting all
our airports with the Gautrain
but it may be too early to
say that.
