South African Airways begins flights to Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

Johannesburg, 2012-09-18 — /travelprnews.com/ — South African Airways (SAA) today launched its first flight from Johannesburg to Brazzaville, the capital of The Republic of Congo.  SAA will serve the expanded Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CAEMC) regions by providing stronger intra-regional connectivity to its customers.

SAA now operates to two cities in Congo, namely Brazzaville and Pointe Noire. “SAA is focused on strengthening its intra-Africa network in line with its Africa expansion strategy. The airline’s expansion within the region also caters to  market demand for increased access into other African states,” says Theunis Potgieter, General Manager Commercial.

“SAA’s mandate from the South African government is to grow footprint on the continent. Growing business and socio-economic ties between Congo and South Africa support the launch of this route. The mix of passengers on this route is business, trader and international travellers as well as governments and families,” says Potgieter. “Furthermore, adding more routes within the African continent offers customers an assortment of travel options to destinations once difficult to reach by air.”

South Africa also has investment interest in the Congo’s transport business particularly relating to infrastructure development of roads, maritime and rail construction as well as in industries such as, mining, harnessing of energy, tourism development and information communications technology services.

The flight schedule is as follows:

ENDS

For more information contact:

Dileseng Koetle
Head: Communication
Tel: +27 11 978 2298
Mobile: +27 83 400 0041
Email: DilesengKoetle@flysaa.com or media@flysaa.com
Web: www.flysaa.com

Kabelo Ledwaba
Communications Manager (External)
Email: kabeloledwaba@flysaa.com or media@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 83 414 4720
Tel: +27 11 978 2760

About SAA
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 26 destinations across the continent, as well as major destinations within South Africa and internationally from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its four wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low cost carrier; Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA and South African Travel Centre (SATC). SAA CEO Siza Mzimela is the first woman to be appointed to the IATA Board of Directors in its 67 year history. Mzimela is also the President of the African Aviation Association (AFRAA). SAA is the winner of the ‘Best Airline in Africa’ Award in the regional category for ten consecutive years and the winner of ‘Service Excellence Africa’ for three consecutive years. Mango and SAA hold the number one and number two successive spots as South Africa’s most on time airlines.