Emirates, South African Airways expand codeshare to nine African destinations.
Dubai: Emirates passengers can now enjoy seamless single-ticket travel to nine additional destinations across South Africa and neighbouring countries following the expansion of the airline’s codeshare partnership with South African Airways.
The expanded agreement offers travellers seamless connections with coordinated flight schedules and through-checked baggage to their final destination when transferring between Emirates and South African Airways services.
The expanded codeshare includes three domestic routes connecting Johannesburg with Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth, along with six regional services linking the city to Kinshasa, Gaborone, Windhoek, Lusaka, Harare and Victoria Falls.
Tickets for the new routes are now available through Emirates’ website, the airline’s retail offices and authorised travel agents.
Emirates gains access to SAA routes
The two airlines previously operated under a unilateral codeshare agreement, with South African Airways placing its code on Emirates flights between Dubai and Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
The arrangement also gave SAA passengers interline access to 68 destinations across the Emirates network via Dubai.
Following regulatory approval, Emirates will now place its code on South African Airways-operated flights, expanding its network to include domestic routes within South Africa as well as six destinations in neighbouring countries.
Partnership approaches three decades
Emirates and South African Airways have partnered since 1997, making it one of the longest-standing airline partnerships in Emirates’ global network.
The expanded codeshare agreement is designed to meet growing demand for travel to South Africa from international markets, particularly Europe, while giving passengers greater access to destinations across southern and central Africa.
Emirates launched its South African operations in 1995 with flights to Johannesburg before expanding its network to Cape Town and Durban.
Since then, the airline has carried more than 20 million passengers to and from South Africa and now operates 56 weekly flights across the three cities.
