Julius Baumann
5 November 2008
Johannesburg — FOR the second time in less than two months Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has lambasted South African Airways (SAA) for cancelling its Johannesburg-Paris route at a time when more French people are visiting SA .
At the annual national tourism conference in Johannesburg this week Van Schalkwyk said SA received 5,5-million foreign visitors in the first seven months of the year, with the number of arrivals from France rising 16,8% compared with the same period last year.
He accused SAA of not providing the air capacity needed to grow the tourism sector in key markets such as France .
"How can SAA cancel flights to such a strong market?" he asked.
He had questioned SAA's decision to cut the route at the launch of tourism month in Rustenberg, North West, in September .
He said yesterday air policy negotiations had resulted in increased flights between the two countries, from 10 flights a week this year to 14 a week next year.
With the withdrawal of SAA from the route, Air France is the sole carrier serving the route.
SAA cancelled its route to Paris last November as part of the airline's restructuring programme. "In terms of this programme, SAA has focused on profitable routes, particularly those in Africa, which is a growth area for the airline. The Paris route, where SAA flew daily, was losing more than R100m a year due mainly to poor connectivity," Robyn Chalmers, SAA's head of group corporate affairs, said.
"Van Schalkwyk was fully briefed on the rationale for closing the Paris route in May 2007, well ahead of the final closure."
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