SOUTH AfricanAirways has cut routes and reduced capacity on the UKservices of Alliance Air after bringing the East African carrier under its wing.
SAA – which has a 40% stake in Alliance Air – will now codeshare with its partner on a number of African routes. Alliance Air has also been rebranded as SAAlliance Air.
First route to be axed under the deal is Alliance’s weekly Heathrow service to Kilimanjaro.
The rescheduling leaves Alliance with a twice-weekly Heathrow service to Entebbe which continues on to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Flights also connect between Dar es Salaam andJohannesburg.
In a further drive for savings flights will be operated by a SAA Boeing 767 aircraft instead of a B747. This will give Alliance 49 less seats and just a two-class service.
Both airlines said the streamlining of Alliance’s network will allow services from the UK to connect more efficiently with their regional African networks.
Alliance managing director Chris Zweigenthal said: “Our goal is to provide a convenient one- stop service for passengers between London and Entebbe, Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg, together with feeder services in and out of these areas.” He added Kilimanjaro would continue to be served from the UK through its African hubs.
The rebranding and cost-cutting withinAlliance comes as SAA battles increased competition from the likes of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
SAA is due to start its privatisation process this year and needs to be seen as cost-effective so a major global airline will take a stake in it to form a strategic alliance.
Lufthansa and its future Star Alliance partner Singapore Airlines are the front-runners, but American Airlines, with backing from BA, and Virgin, KLM and Swissair are also keen to take a stake in SAA.
n SAA has added a sixth weekly flight to its Heathrow-Cape Town schedule. Another new service starts on March 29 to give the carrier a daily operation.