Grahame Hutchison
8th June 2012, 03:21 PM
From CAPA ..
Cyclical downturns can disproportionately affect end of line carriers since they have few opportunities to pull traffic for long-haul flights, as has been seen with Qantas (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/qantas-airways-qf) and to a lesser extent Air New Zealand (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/air-new-zealand-nz). But now South African Airways (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/south-african-airways-sa) (SAA (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/south-african-airways-sa)) is feeling the pinch and will end from 16-Aug-2012 its London Heathrow (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/london-heathrow-airport-lhr)-Cape Town (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/cape-town-international-airport-cpt) service after over two decades of operation.
As with Air New Zealand (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/countries/new-zealand) and Qantas (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/qantas-airways-qf) redistributing some capacity from competitive intercontinental routes to less competitive and higher-yielding regional markets, SAA intends to expand capacity to the healthy west African markets of Abidjan (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/abidjan-felix-houphouet-boigny-airport-abj), Accra (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/accra-kotoka-airport-acc) and Lagos (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/lagos-murtala-muhammed-airport-los) as well as open longer routes to the healthier markets of Mumbai (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/mumbai-airport-bom) and Perth (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/perth-airport-per).
SAA has not previously encountered challenges the way ANZ and Qantas (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/qantas-airways-qf) have, a result of South Africa (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/countries/south-africa) taking a more restrictive approach to air service agreements, SAA can fly non-stop to key markets and there is limited sixth freedom competition from other African carriers.
Full Article (http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/south-african-airways-ends-cape-town-london-service-for-bigger-growth-in-west-africa-and-beyond-75711)
Cyclical downturns can disproportionately affect end of line carriers since they have few opportunities to pull traffic for long-haul flights, as has been seen with Qantas (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/qantas-airways-qf) and to a lesser extent Air New Zealand (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/air-new-zealand-nz). But now South African Airways (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/south-african-airways-sa) (SAA (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/south-african-airways-sa)) is feeling the pinch and will end from 16-Aug-2012 its London Heathrow (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/london-heathrow-airport-lhr)-Cape Town (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/cape-town-international-airport-cpt) service after over two decades of operation.
As with Air New Zealand (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/countries/new-zealand) and Qantas (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/qantas-airways-qf) redistributing some capacity from competitive intercontinental routes to less competitive and higher-yielding regional markets, SAA intends to expand capacity to the healthy west African markets of Abidjan (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/abidjan-felix-houphouet-boigny-airport-abj), Accra (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/accra-kotoka-airport-acc) and Lagos (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/lagos-murtala-muhammed-airport-los) as well as open longer routes to the healthier markets of Mumbai (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/mumbai-airport-bom) and Perth (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airports/perth-airport-per).
SAA has not previously encountered challenges the way ANZ and Qantas (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/airlines/qantas-airways-qf) have, a result of South Africa (http://www.centreforaviation.com/profiles/countries/south-africa) taking a more restrictive approach to air service agreements, SAA can fly non-stop to key markets and there is limited sixth freedom competition from other African carriers.
Full Article (http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/south-african-airways-ends-cape-town-london-service-for-bigger-growth-in-west-africa-and-beyond-75711)