TRAVEL agents have seen a recent
surge in interest in direct flights to the
US on Delta, SAA and Virgin Atlantic.
The trend follows the US Department
for Homeland Security’s decision to
ban all electronic devices larger than
a smartphone on US-bound flights
travelling through certain hubs in the
Middle East from March 25.
Mohammed Mirza, travel consultant
of A2Z Travel Services, says Qatar
Airways used to be the airline of
choice for his corporate and leisure
clients travelling to the US due to
its competitive fares and on-board
services and entertainment system.
Now they are leaning towards Delta
instead, says Mohammed. “Travellers
would rather fork out so they can use
their tablets and laptops on board. This
has spiked sales for airlines like Delta
as well as SAA and Virgin.”
Marco Tomasicchio, gm of XL
International Travels, is surprised
by this consumer behaviour, mainly
because fares on SAA are pricey.
Chanelle Moses, team leader of Flight
Centre Randpark Ridge, who used to
book most of her clients to the US on
Emirates, says she expected this trend.
“People who can afford to travel to the
US on business or leisure can generally
afford to spend more on airfares.”
Virgin Atlantic has seen passengers
arrive at OR Tambo to check in for their
US-bound flight on a Mid-East carrier,
become aware of the ban, cancel their
flight and book a direct flight on Virgin.
“In the last seven days we have seen
a huge influx of forward bookings from
April to June, which could be attributed
to the ban,” says Darrin Thomas,
marketing manager of Virgin Atlantic.
Mohammed is concerned about the
impact that this behaviour will have on
agents’ commission, as the airlines
that consumers are now choosing do
not offer commission, which some
Mid-East carriers do. That said, agents
are unsure how much longer travellers
will be able to afford to fly direct to
the US considering SA’s economy.
Mohammed concludes that “only time
will tell.
Pax opt to fly direct post US ban
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