SAA strengthens flight network in West Africa

South African Airways (SAA) has – in what is a significant achievement for the airline, strengthened its position in West Africa, with the upcoming introduction of a second West African country linking air travel to North America.

“Following months of SAA efforts and preparations and the successful negotiations between the governments of Ghana and South Africa, we are pleased that we can now fly our customers between Ghana and the United States of America from August 2015 onwards.

“This is a major development and achievement for the airline as part of our Long-Term turnaround strategy where we have set growth on the African continent as one of our key objectives. With a strong presence in West Africa, in the form of nonstop services between Accra and Washington D.C. and through our airline partnerships our customers will soon have access to further destinations in West Africa,”  Nico Bezuidenhout, SAA Acting Chief Executive Officer said.

Also speaking on the development,  Kendy Phohleli, SAA Executive Africa Hub Projects, said ‘the granting of traffic rights by the Ghana government enables SAA to transport customers between Accra and Washington. As current supply is limited, forcing the majority of customers in Ghana to travel via Europe to reach North America, the SAA’s introduction of non-stop services from Ghana will considerably reduce travel times.

Customers will also be able to experience 4-Star Skytrax rated airline service to North America, serving the West African community, a service, which offers world-class quality, product, and service standards and has enabled SAA to be awarded a 4-Star rating by Skytrax for 13 consecutive years.

Not only has SAA added Ghana as a second entry point in West Africa, the airline, has also entered into a bi-lateral codeshare agreement with Africa World Airlines.

This airline partnership will offer SAA customers from Washington and Johannesburg seamless connectivity via Accra to other destinations in Ghana such as Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale as well as to Lagos, Nigeria.

Based at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Africa World Airlines is the fastest growing airline in Ghana, which operates domestic and regional flights in West Africa.

From Washington, SAA offers convenient connections to and from over 50 markets in the U.S. and Canada through its airline partners United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Virgin America.

SAA currently operates daily flights between Johannesburg and Accra.

Effective August 2, 2015,  the schedule will be reconfigured to four of the weekly Accra flights which  will continue onwards to Washington; three of the weekly Accra flights will continue onwards to Abidjan, Ivory Coast while three of the current weekly flights to Washington will continue operating from Johannesburg, via Dakar, Senegal.

The Accra – Washington route will be served by A340-600s featuring 42 full-flat 180° beds in Premium Business Class and 275 seats in Economy Class.