SAA is confident that
the recently announced
improvements on its Beijing
route will be able to turn
the profitability of the route
around. Currently, Beijing is
SAA’s worst performing route,
with losses of up to R309m
a year.
Flights now depart four hours
earlier from Johannesburg and
arrive earlier in Beijing.
Kendy Phohleli, SAA gm
of commercial (acting), says
improved arrival and departure
times and better codeshare
relations with Air China will
make it easier for customers
to catch connecting flights
to other destinations within
China. The partnership
also offers frequent flyer
programme benefits.
The route is currently
unprofitable because the
original time slots didn’t allow
travellers to connect to other
areas in China, says Rod
Rutter, coo of XL Travel. This
led business travellers to
opt for alternative flights into
China through Hong Kong. The
new schedule, he says, will
make a huge difference to the
popularity of the route.
It is “cast in stone” that the
trade links between China
and South Africa will continue
to grow, Rod adds. Business
travel between the two
countries will flourish, which
in turn will lead to increased
demand for air travel, he says.
Geraldine Boshoff, marketing
manager of Sure Travel, says
corporate travellers often
prefer to fly on SAA to China
but the previous timeslots
were not convenient for those
needing to catch a connecting
flight. “SAA offers travellers
the only direct flight from SA to
Beijing. They also offer better
connections to the rest of
China with Air China.”
However, Allan Lunz,
md of Bidtravel, is less
optimistic. He says although
the improvements are good
news, Beijing is simply
the wrong gateway. “The
route to Beijing is based on
political considerations, not
commercial. It is not the
correct destination.” Allan
adds that Shanghai would
be a better gateway, as there
are tremendous business
opportunities in Shanghai for
South African corporates.
Demand for leisure travel
will increase, Geraldine adds.
“China is our fastest growing
market and more leisure
travellers are interested in
visiting the country. Most
leisure travellers will use
Beijing as a hub to other
Chinese cities and Asian
countries. The SA travel
industry can play a major
part in making this route
successful for SAA.”
