SAA bulks up in West Africa
Africa’s leading airline South African Airways (SAA) has substantially increased its presence in West Africa with a range of initiatives designed to enhance connections to North America from Ghana and into South and West Africa. This also adds to the current SAA service from Dakar to the United States. According to Tim Clyde-Smith, SAA’s Country Manager, Australasia: “This is a major development for SAA as part of our Long-Term Turnaround Strategy where we have set growth on the African continent as a key objective. 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,”
“The granting of traffic rights to SAA by the government of Ghana* will mean from August 2015 we can fly passengers directly between Accra and Washington. With current aircraft shortages, most passengers now need to get to the US via Europe.
Our new non-stop services from Ghana will considerably reduce travel times,” Tim said. “Customers will also be able to experience 4-Star Skytrax-rated airline service into and from North America, serving the West African community and offering world-class quality, product, and service standards,” he said. “Not only has SAA added Ghana as a second entry point into West Africa, we have also entered into a bi-lateral codeshare agreement with Africa World Airlines. This airline partnership will offer our 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.”
“Africa World Airlines is the fastest growing airline in Ghana operating domestic and regional flights in West Africa based at Kotoka International Airport in Accra. The airline was recently awarded “Domestic Airline of the Year” in Ghana. From Washington SAA offers convenient connections to and from over 50 markets in the U.S. and Canada through our airline partners United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Virgin America.