SAA/TAP code share agreement expanded

SAA said that, effective immediately, customers will be able to use new connecting code share services beyond Lisbon to other Portuguese destinations within the TAP domestic network, including Porto, Faro and Funchal (Madeira). This is in addition to the current code share services offered via London (Heathrow) on SAA-operated routes between Johannesburg, Cape Town and London, and on TAP Portugal-operated routes between London and Lisbon.

The code share has also been expanded to include the West African connecting point of Accra in Ghana. TAP will operate the Lisbon - Accra route with SAA as the code share partner, while SAA will operate the Accra - Johannesburg route with TAP Portugal as the code share partner. The arrangement "will allow alternative, improved and expanded connectivity between each airline's networks, with significant benefits to be offered to passengers on both airlines," SAA's Head of Global Sales Development and Alliances Marc Cavaliere said.

According to DefenceWeb, SAA is in the midst of expanding its route network. At the end of last month it announced a code share agreement with Air China that will complement SAA's newly inaugurated non-stop service between Johannesburg and Beijing, introduced on January 31. It was the first of three new weekly flights between South Africa and the Chinese capital.

Read the full article on www.defenceweb.co.za.