Gunship
6th Apr 2005, 06:27
From busrep.co.za Virgin Atlantic had plans to provide a pan-African service, with Johannesburg and Lagos as hub airports, and would make increased use of regional airline Nationwide as a feeder providing connecting services, Mike Higgins, the airline's general manager in southern Africa, said yesterday.
This will bring it into conflict with SAA, British Airways (BA) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, all of which have similar plans.
SAA uses SA Airlink and SA Express as feeder airlines. BA is using BA/Comair and a joint venture between BA/Comair and Zambian Air Services. KLM is using Kenya Airways, in which it has a 29 percent stake.
Higgins said Virgin had no immediate plans to take an equity stake in Nationwide, but "we are strengthening the relationship we already have".
This included codesharing on some routes and Nationwide passengers earning points on Virgin's Flying Club loyalty programme.
Livingstone, in Zambia, was the first destination outside South Africa to which Nationwide carried Virgin passengers.
Chris Hoare, Nationwide's commercial executive, said Virgin Holidays, the UK-based airline's specialist division offering package holidays to foreign tourists, had produced a 131-page brochure on destinations in southern Africa including Cape Town, Sun City, the Garden Route and the Kruger Park.
"There has been tremendous response to Livingstone from the UK alone - it is obviously going to be an important tourist destination."
Hoare said that with a fiercely competitive domestic airline market in South Africa, Nationwide was planning to expand to other African destinations and form alliances with African airlines.
This will bring it into conflict with SAA, British Airways (BA) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, all of which have similar plans.
SAA uses SA Airlink and SA Express as feeder airlines. BA is using BA/Comair and a joint venture between BA/Comair and Zambian Air Services. KLM is using Kenya Airways, in which it has a 29 percent stake.
Higgins said Virgin had no immediate plans to take an equity stake in Nationwide, but "we are strengthening the relationship we already have".
This included codesharing on some routes and Nationwide passengers earning points on Virgin's Flying Club loyalty programme.
Livingstone, in Zambia, was the first destination outside South Africa to which Nationwide carried Virgin passengers.
Chris Hoare, Nationwide's commercial executive, said Virgin Holidays, the UK-based airline's specialist division offering package holidays to foreign tourists, had produced a 131-page brochure on destinations in southern Africa including Cape Town, Sun City, the Garden Route and the Kruger Park.
"There has been tremendous response to Livingstone from the UK alone - it is obviously going to be an important tourist destination."
Hoare said that with a fiercely competitive domestic airline market in South Africa, Nationwide was planning to expand to other African destinations and form alliances with African airlines.