Sobelair to pull out of SA?

MEDIA reports out of Belgium have indicated that Sobelair is considering discontinuing its Brussels/Johannesburg route. Nationwide Airlines handles Sobel's sales function in South Africa. Nationwide's commercial executive, Chris Hoare, says that media reports at this stage are premature. "Sobelair is reviewing the Johannesburg route as part of a broader review of its operations. Due to the current climate in the airline industry, load factors on the Johannesburg route have been lower than was initially hoped. It is too soon to tell if the airline will completely withdraw from the route at this stage," said Hoare. Since November 2002, Sobelair has operated three weekly non-stop flights between Brussels and Johannesburg, utilising a B767-300ER. The schedule was reduced by one flight a week during May and will carry on into June. (Miguel de Sousa)