SAA, Africa World Airlines sign MoU to enable interline travel, shared network

26th February 2019

By: Marleny Arnoldi

Deputy Editor Online

     

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State-owned South African Airways (SAA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Africa World Airlines (AWA), in Ghana, to enhance connectivity for customers travelling to, from and beyond the West African region.

The agreement allows the two airlines to enhance their relationship through synergies that include code sharing, franchising and other related projects.

“As part of our turnaround strategy, we are constantly looking at ways of improving our customers’ travel experiences. This agreement gives our customers seamless connections from Johannesburg into more destinations in Ghana and other West African destinations,” SAA CEO Vuyani Jarana commented in a statement issued on Tuesday.

“This agreement with SAA will help consolidate AWA’s position as one of the leading airlines in West Africa. We are excited by the potential that this African partnership can deliver and are confident that it will be a win-win relationship for both sides,” said AWA CEO John Quan.

SAA and AWA first formed a partnership in 2015, which resulted in the start of the Accra to Washington Dulles flights. The relationship has since grown from the original commercial cooperation into the new interline commercial agreement, which became possible when SAA finalised technology integration with AWA in November.

The interline agreement allows the acceptance of each other’s customers and access to each other’s network.

SAA operates daily flights between Johannesburg and Accra, with four of the flights continuing onwards to Washington and the other three flights continuing onwards to Abidjan, in Côte d’Ivoire.

SAA customers will fly from Accra on SAA-operated flights and then connect to further destinations on flights operated by AWA.

Over the coming months, the interline agreement will evolve into a code share agreement.

SAA customers will then travel on one ticket from Johannesburg to Accra, or from Washington to Accra, and onwards to a number of destinations, such as Kumasi, in central Ghana, Tamale in north Ghana and Takoradi in west Ghana.

SAA customers will also be able to connect from Accra to Lagos and Abuja, in Nigeria; Freetown, in Sierra Leone; and Monrovia, in Liberia.

In turn, AWA customers travelling from Ghana, Lagos, Abuja, Freetown and Monrovia, are able to travel on one ticket from any AWA point of origin and connect onto SAA international flights to either Washington or Johannesburg, or further on the SAA network.

 With effect from April, SAA will increase the frequency from Accra to Washington to five flights per week. SAA offers the only nonstop flight between Ghana and Washington and convenient connections to and from over 100 cities across the US and Canada through its Star Alliance partner, United Airlines, through Washington, DC-Dulles.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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