http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?...=2012/June/Tuesday19



Airlink breaks monopoly on Joburg-Maun route


BONIFACE KEAKABETSE
Correspondent

MAUN: South African airline, SA Airlink started operating the Johannesburg - Maun daily flight service on Friday and undertook to help connect the Okavango Delta to the rest of the world.



Launching the airline's route at Maun airport on Friday, Airlink CEO, Rodger Foster, said his airline would help travellers from markets such as East Asia and South America, who might have previously found it difficult to access the Okavango Delta. He said their daily operations of this route would matchup Air Botswana's services and therefore open up additional markets to the globally renowned Okavango Delta.

Before the launch, Air Botswana was the only airline operating scheduled flights from South Africa into the Delta, with the rest of the tourists serviced by private or chartered aircrafts.

Foster said that Airlink would initially operate the Maun route using one of its 10 Embraer ERJ 135 37 seat regional jets.
However, they will in future introduce the 83 seat Avro RJ85 on to the route in line with the market demand, he said.

"Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) reflects on its website that for the calendar year 2012 to date, Airlink ranks as top in time performing airline, measured over the main domestic ACSA airports (OR Tambo, Cape Town and Durban) with an average of 92.61 percent of its flights departing on time" he said.

SA Airlink is a South African Airways (SAA) regional partner and the new flight service will allow travelers on SAA's morning, non-stop flight from New York to Johannesburg make a same-day connection to Maun and arrive in the early afternoon.

Speaking during the event, Minister of Transport and Communications Nonofo Molefhi said the Botswana government supports the ingress of Airlink in Botswana and noted that that other willing airlines are welcome to fly, not only to Maun, but other destinations around the country.

Molefhi said despite the fact that Airlink will give competition to Air Botswana, which has until last week enjoyed sole monopoly of this lucrative tourism route; the introduction of Airlink will benefit local tourism and the travelling industry.

He said the government has liberalised Botswana's skies and invested in the expansion of airports. He revealed that Air Namibia that operates Maun- Victoria falls route, has also started flying from Windhoek to Gaborone.

The government is undertaking airports expansion throughout Botswana to make good of the country's air travel industry.
"Construction of a new runway at Maun airport has been concluded. We expect construction of the new terminal building to start soon," he said.

For their part, the tourism industry players said the Airlink development is good news to the industry.

The Managing director of Wilderness Safaris Botswana, Grant Woodrow said the airline would introduce more seats as international travelling agents will book for their clients to come to Botswana. He said before it had been difficult to make bookings for the route due to shortage of capacity in Air Botswana.

Moremi Air CEO, Sue Smarts echoed the same sentiments in an interview with Mmegi. She explained that the introduction of Airlink would encourage Air Botswana to pull up its socks and perform better. " This is good news for the industry in general," she said.