SAA, Jet Airways India sign code share agreement

Under the agreement, South African Airways, the only airline with non-stop flights between Johannesburg and Mumbai, will code share on Jet Airways' operations between Mumbai and Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram.

In turn, Jet Airways will code share on SAA's flights between Mumbai and Johannesburg and beyond to Cape Town and Durban.

The tickets went on sale on 16 April 2013 with travel effective from 18 April 2013.

Customers who are members of SAA's loyalty programme, Voyager, will be able to earn miles and obtain tier status when travelling on Jet Airways using SAA-issued tickets.

Members of Jet Airways' Jet Privilege programme will also be able to earn and redeem JPMiles and earn Tier points/Tier JPMiles when they travel on SAA flights marketed by Jet Airways.

SAA's acting General Manager: Commercial, Manoj Papa said this provides an opportunity for customers to spend miles exploring the various Indian and South African destinations on offer.

"SAA is pleased with this latest offering on the India route. This partnership strengthens the historic commercial, political and cultural cooperation between South Africa and India. In essence, the agreement further supports the objectives of the Brics member states," said Papa.

A recent study by the Department of Tourism indicated that the number of tourists from India to South Africa has steadily increased in recent years by over 122% between 2005 and 2010 and a further 29% increase between January and September 2011.

"Using Johannesburg as a convenient connection hub, a significant number of these travellers are also taking advantage of SAA's vast route network of 26 destinations across Africa as well as access to over 1300 airports in almost 200 countries through our Star Alliance membership.

"The code share agreement will effectively enhance flight choices for customers, whether originating in India or Africa. In essence we are truly bringing the world to Africa and taking Africa to the world," Papa said.

Jet Airways' Chief Commercial Officer, Sudheer Raghavan noted that with the seamless connections offered between India and South Africa, they are confident that the mutually beneficial codeshare will prove extremely popular with both business and leisure travellers.

"Jet Airways is delighted to enter into a codeshare partnership with SAA. Besides its global popularity as a tourist destination, South Africa, in its capacity as Africa's largest economy, is also a strategic trade and investment destination," said Raghavan.