Air Zimbabwe 767-200 Flight from Harare International Airport (HRE) to Johannesburg OR Tambo (JNB)

South African Airways (SAA) returning to its roots

 

Cape Town - In a well-meaning attempt to drum up more business for our successful aerospace companies, SAA recently cancelled plans to order new wide-bodied planes for its long-haul routes until it included reciprocal orders for parts to be made in this country. But it became clear this week that to stem huge losses on all its international and some domestic routes, our national carrier cannot afford to lose time in acquiring the new aircraft. The high cost of jet fuel combined with the need to reduce pollution has caused competitors on international routes and Comair on domestic routes to replace their older gas-guzzling planes with more economical ones.

 

SAA explained this situation to the parliamentary portfolio committee on public enterprises , together with the fact that the fall in the rand is a further handicap as many of its expenses have to be paid in US dollars. Without this factor, it would have made a small profit this year. One of its disadvantages, as a state-owned airline, is that it is compelled to retain some of its worst loss-making routes, such as that to Beijing, for political reasons. Many Cape Town business people, for instance, fly to China or India with Emirates by way of Dubai – because of the greater comfort and convenience of travelling in the newest aircraft – rather than with SAA in an older plane by way of Johannesburg. SAA is also asking Airbus to speed up delivery of its new regional fleet of A 320s. Two have arrived, with 18 more to come.

 

Back to its roots:

 

SAA is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year and is returning to its roots by planning to enlarge its route network in Africa. Increasing prosperity and political stability in a number of countries have created an environment for business travel, and there are also signs that leisure travel is starting to grow. In the early days, SAA only flew domestic routes but in 1937 it started its first regional service between Joburg and Lusaka, with stops at Pietersburg (now Polokwane), Bulawayo and Livingstone. This was later extended to Nairobi and Kisumu. When World War II broke out in 1939, a section of SAA became a defence wing controlled by the Department of Defence, which took over its fleet of Junkers used on domestic flights and 22 percent of its staff.

 

In May 1940 the entire airline became a military unit, with all commercial flights suspended. But in December that year two commercial flights were reintroduced to neighbouring countries. It became a commercial operation again at the end of 1944 and started its first intercontinental route – to Bournemouth in the UK – in November 1945. The flights started in Palmietfontein and were routed by way of Nairobi, Khartoum, Cairo and Castel-Benito. SAA was one of the 44 founding members of the International Air Transport Association in 1945.

 

Five years later, when a domestic route network was more developed, it introduced Douglas DC4 aircraft into its fleet and operated a service between Joburg, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, with stops in Kimberley, Bloemfontein and George. Jan Smuts Airport (now OR Tambo International) opened in April 1952 and in October of the following year, SAA became the first non-British airline to operate a jet aircraft from Joburg to London. In 1976, the first step towards making flights between London and Joburg accessible to the mass market – leading to the demise of the weekly mailship service between Southampton and Cape Town – was taken with the introduction of Boeing 747s on the route.

 

Between the early 1960s and the coming to power of South Africa’s first democratically elected government, many African countries denied SAA the right to enter or fly over their air space. This forced its aircraft to make a long detour over the sea, to avoid flying over the bulge of West Africa, but it flew to many European countries. Since then, though, it has withdrawn from most of its former European destinations, partly because the new government did not recapitalise it to renew its ageing fleet, so making its services uncompetitive.

 

Although SAA has been bailed out on several occasions, this was mainly to rescue it from difficulties caused by bad business decisions. It still flies from Joburg to the US, London, Germany and its partners in the BRICS (Brazil, India, China, Russia) group but, apart from this, SAA is gradually increasing the number of its destinations in sub-Saharan Africa. This region is attracting additional airlines, and more business and leisure travel, as it becomes more prosperous.

 

Source: ioltravel

British Airways-Comair withdraws Maputo Route

British Airways (operated by Comair) has advised that it will no longer be operating flights between OR Tambo International Airport and Maputo International Airport from February 8. Since launching in May 2013, the route has proved to be commercially unviable for the airline. Iain Meaker, Commercial Distribution Executive for Comair, says: “After much consideration and review we have decided to withdraw the Maputo route to ensure the airline remains sustainable.” Passengers already booked with BA Comair will be re-accommodated by the airline on SAA at no additional cost. Un-ticketed bookings will be cancelled.

Air Zimbabwe A320's grounded in South Africa

 

 

Air Zimbabwe's two A320 Airbuses have been grounded at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the last four months amid disclosures that the planes were unserviceable. Grounding of the Airbuses adds to the woes of the national carrier that now has only two planes in the air servicing the Harare-Johannesburg route and the domestic market. The two are a Boeing 737 and the leased Embraer jet. The third functional plane is a Boeing 767 which is usually used when the 737 is down or when President Robert Mugabe is travelling outside the country. Three MA60's acquired from China a couple of years ago have also remained in the hangars as their potential to get back to the skies has been ruled out.

An insider reported that: "The Airbuses have been at OR Tambo for the last four months and are incurring storage charges which are rising by the day as they remain unfixed. They were taken to South Africa for C-Checks." C-Check refers to the comprehensive overhaul of aircraft after a certain amount of time or usage. The source added: "When one of the Airbuses was flying, the airline used to cannibalise the parked one for parts. One of the planes needs its landing gear replaced." Contacted for comment last night, Airzim spokesperson Shingai Taruvinga confirmed the Airbuses were grounded in SA, but could not give more details.

A senior official at the airline also confirmed that the Airbuses had been grounded, but could not give further details. "It's true that they (Airbuses) are in South Africa since we don't have the capacity to service them here. One of the planes has a landing gear problem and the lessor is looking at replacing it soonest," the official said. The senior official also confirmed that the airline was conducting C-Checks on two Boeings locally and these will be completed soon. "We need about $1,5 million to complete the C-Checks on the Boeing 767 and Boeing 737 at our workshops and I suppose that should be done within the next three weeks," the official added.

Source: Bulawayo24

SA Express Apply for Bulawayo Route

SA Express have officially applied for 3 weekly flights on the Johannesburg (OR Tambo) - Bulawayo (Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo) route. The application was submitted and the end of 2013 and if SAX is granted rights on this route, it will join SA Airlink and Air Zimbabwe which both operate daily flights between the two cities. A recent article stated that the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) have teamed up in-order to market the airport amid fears the facility could become a white elephant. We will be keeping you up-to-date regarding developments on this possible route.    

Fresh Air Commences First Flight in November

Fresh Air, the Zimbabwean registered airline who recently entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with South African low cost carrier, 1time Airline, is set to take to the skies on Friday, 2 November 2012 with their first flight departing OR Tambo International Airport en route to Victoria Falls Airport, Zimbabwe. The route schedule, which as it stands, includes three weekly flights from OR Tambo International Airport on Mondays and Fridays at 10:40 am respectively, as well as a Sunday flight at 10:20 am.
As initially agreed, the JV encompasses 1time utilising its fleet of aircraft to serve the Fresh Air route, which subsequently replaces 1time’s current Livingstone flight schedule in favour of flights between Johannesburg and Victoria Falls Airport.
The route schedule, which as it stands, includes three weekly flights from OR Tambo International Airport on Mondays and Fridays at 10:40 am respectively, as well as a Sunday flight at 10:20 am.