SAA and Etihad end partnership

IN A surprise move – only
two weeks after SAA
announced it would
cancel its Abu Dhabi route
but remain committed
to its partnership with
Etihad Airways – SAA has
announced it will scrap its
codeshare agreement with
the Gulf carrier.
SAA will cease operations
between Johannesburg and
Abu Dhabi from March 1.
Etihad Airways said in
a statement that it had
received verbal notification
from SAA of its intention
to cancel its codeshare
agreement. “Etihad
Airways’ passengers who
are currently booked on
flights operated by SAA
will be honoured up until
the completion of the
contractual arrangement,”
Etihad said.
The codeshare agreement,
which was launched in April
last year, was expected to
dramatically improve SAA’s
offering to the Middle East,
Asia and even parts of
Europe.
SAA Acting ceo, Musa
Zwane, said the airline had
decided to discontinue the
codeshare agreement as
a result of route network
rationalisation. “We are
confident that most routes
previously served through
this codeshare can be
accommodated through
SAA’s other codeshare
partners and within the Star
Alliance.”
The scrapping of the
codeshare is a concern for
travel agents who derive
a lot of sales from the
India route. Dinesh Naidoo,
group operations director
of Serendipity Worldwide
Group, says it will be difficult
to reach SAA growth targets
as, on average, 20% of
SWG’s SAA sales are made
on the Mumbai route. “With
less flying capacity, it will
be more difficult to reach
targets. This is something
that needs to be discussed
with SAA but there has been
no communication from the
airline,” says Dinesh. “How
will we be able to make
targets, especially seeing
that SAA’s new override
model is based on growth?”
“We find that when SAA
provides an explanation –
while it often makes sense
– it’s usually after the fact,”
says Sean Hough, ceo of
Pentravel.
“As such, because
we’ve had no explanation
or communication on
the cancellation of the
codeshare with Etihad,
at this stage it’s hard to
understand the rationale.
We are all surprised by this
unexpected move.”