Codeshare agreement between SAA and KQ connects West, central, East and southern Africa
Namibian passengers who are prepared to fly to Johannesburg first now has the rest of the continent unlocked following a codeshare agreement between South African Airways and Kenya Airways.
Under the agreement, each airline sell under its own code, flights operated by each other. Flyers on either of the two airlines will continue to earn Voyager Miles on the codeshare flights. The agreement allows passengers to combine flight segments and baggage on a single ticket.
Passengers travelling out of South Africa will have more options to travel to African destinations like Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Mombasa, and Kisumu while Kenian passengers will have more choices for travel into southern Africa to popular cities like Cape Town, Durban, and Harare. All in all, Kenya Airways serves 35 important African destinations.
As the codeshare partnership develops, it is envisaged later to include destinations like Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Juba, Douala, Lusaka and countries like Ghana and Nigeria but this depends to some extent on government approval.
Kenya Airways Chief Executive, Allan Kilavuka, said “We are very pleased to implement the codeshare with SAA which offers our shared customers more options and flight combinations. As part of our Strategic Partnership Framework, we will contribute to make it easier for passengers to reach exciting new destinations within Africa. The additional destinations we believe will offer better customer journeys thanks to the number of frequencies and connections created as well as many opportunities for trade and tourism. “
South African Airways acting Chief Executive, John Lamola, echoed the sentiment, saying “Through the codeshare agreement with Kenya Airways, South African Airways’ valued clientele will gain new travel choices to markets across East Africa via Kenya’s extensive network and hub in Nairobi, providing for seamless travel and status recognition. We are looking forward to introducing Kenya Airways customers to our award-winning service, and to work closely with Kenya Airways as our partnership will improve the connections between our respective networks.”
In November last year, KQ and SAA signed a Strategic Partnership Framework to work together to increase passenger traffic, cargo opportunities, and general trade by taking advantage of strengths in South Africa, Kenya, and the rest of the continent.
