SAA’s new frontier

THE launch of flights
between Accra and
Washington, on which
SAA has fifth freedom
rights to offload and pick
up passengers, is a pilot
project – a foothold in West
Africa from which SAA can
open up travel between
the underserved region
and North America, Kendy
Phohleli, SAA’s executive of
African Hub Projects, told
TNW on the side lines of the
launch event, which was held
at the Labadi Beach Hotel in
Accra on August 2.
“SAA has been working
on establishing a presence
in West Africa for eight
years. Seeing this come
to fruition is momentous
as it forms a fundamental
part of the airline’s Long
Term Turnaround Strategy,”
he said. “South Africa
is so far south it makes
sense to have a feeder
hub close to the Equator
to move traffic between
Africa and North America
and Europe.” The next North
American destination on
the list, following Accra to
Washington, is Toronto.
SAA plans to use Ghana
as a launch pad. It was
negotiating with other
countries to expand its
presence in the region,
establishing similar
arrangements between West
Africa and French markets,
for example, Kendy said.
The airline has established
a commercial co-operation
agreement with Ghanaian
domestic carrier, Africa
World Airlines (AWA), which
will offer customers further
connections into West Africa,
including Kumasi, Takoradi
and Tamale in Ghana as well
as to Lagos, Nigeria.
In North America,
connections to and from
over 50 markets will be
offered through SAA’s airline
partners United Airlines,
JetBlue Airways and Virgin
America.
The Accra-Washington
route will be served by
A340-600s on Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays and
Sundays, featuring 42
lie-flat seats in business
class and 275 seats in
economy class.