Cape Town - Many of us regret that SAA no longer flies to London, or to any other overseas destination, from Cape Town, but we have plenty of choice from other airlines, particularly in summer.
British Airways, which still flies here all year round, will increase its services from one to two flights a day on October 28 and German airline Lufthansa will be back on October 29, flying between Cape Town and Munich this summer, instead of to Frankfurt as in previous years.
But for those who want to go to Frankfurt without changing planes in Joburg, newcomer Condor Airline, a subsidiary of tour operator Thomas Cook, will offer two return flights a week.
Hopefully, it won’t be long before we can enjoy a BA innovation – automatic check-in, offered as a choice when you book your flight, which is being tried out with selected travellers using airports in France.
If it is extended to all BA passengers after a trial period, there will be no more queueing or checking yourself in on an airport machine, or even by telephone before you leave home.
If you choose it, you will be checked in automatically 24 hours before the flight, assigned a seat and sent your boarding pass electronically. Airlines are a highly competitive business, so if others see it is a success it won’t be long before most of them offer the same service, removing a last-minute hassle.
According to Frank van der Post, BA’s managing director of brands and customer experience, the trial will be extended to a larger group of travellers and then, if it’s still a success, it will be an option for all passengers towards the end of next year.
l Low-cost airline 1Time, which is trading under the protection of business rescue while it pays off debts incurred during the difficult period that has put several established airlines out of business, has been awarded the coveted World Travel Award as Africa’s leading low-cost airline for the fourth year in a row.
The voting for these awards is done online by more than 790 000 travel industry professionals and frequent travellers from more than 170 countries over a year.
1Time, which is eight years old, has a large number of regular customers in this country, most of whom have been supportive. Erik Venter, the chief executive of Comair, whose low cost division, kulula.com, is 1Time’s main competitor, said he believed the airline’s difficulties were due almost entirely to the fact that its fleet was composed of fuel-guzzling aircraft at a time when the cost of airline fuel has reached its highest levels and hit the entire industry.
1Time has been unable to get finance to replace its fleet with new-generation planes, as Comair has done. Let’s hope it succeeds in trading out of difficulties as passenger demand rises, and that this helps it to secure finance for a new fleet.
Competition from Mango, SAA’s low-cost division, has also played a part in 1Time’s difficulties. Mango has new-generation aircraft leased from SAA and is acquiring two more. In line with SAA policy, it also plans to expand outside this country. - Weekend Argus