SoUTHERN AFRICA’S TRAVEL NEWS WEEKLY
March 24 2010 I No. 2099
TRAVEL NEWS WEEKLY
INSIDE
TNW3782SD
NEWS
AnD ThE fInAlISTS ArE...
NEWS
ESTA unrAv A EllED Av
fEaTurE
Asata Awards coming soon.
Q&A with US Embassy
Party hotspots
Page 4
P rIS PA
Page 7
Page 8
Branson forces SA-Oz fare dive Natalia thomsoN
M
Air Seychelles heading for Cape Town Starting March 21, Air Seychelles is now flying to Cape Town via Johannesburg for four months (until July 18). The flight is an extension of the airline’s existing Sunday flight to Johannesburg. The flight departs Seychelles on Sundays at 08h10, arriving in Johannesburg at 11h25 and departs for Cape Town at 12h40, arriving at 14h50. The return service departs Cape Town on Sundays at 20h30, arrives in Johannesburg at 22h40, departs at 23h55 and arrives in Seychelles on Mondays at 06h50. Pictured here are gm, Deon Freemantle; sales executive, Hermina Sennelo; sales and marketing manager, Heidi Hanning and David Germain; Seychelles Tourism Board Photo: Tijana Huysamen
World leisure holidays moves into Thailand Natasha tiPPel
artifact A7748
WORLD Leisure Holidays, renowned for its properties and holiday offerings in Mauritius, has announced its plans to expand into the Thailand market. Properties have been hand selected, ranging from three-star to fivestar accommodation offerings. These include properties in Phuket, Koh Samui, and Phi Phi Island.
“Mauritius will remain our bread and butter but World Leisure Holidays specialises in beach holidays and therefore our venture into Thailand is a natural progression of development,” says national sales and marketing manager, Alexis Bekker. “South Africans are adventurous travellers and we want to be able to give our clients a complete offering of holiday options.”
World Leisure Holidays also plans to a launch a stopover programme in conjunction with a number of airlines, including Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines. World Leisure Holidays will open sales on its Thailand properties in April. “Once we have a foothold in Thailand we will look at expanding into other Far East destinations,” says Alexis. n
EANINGFUL competition on the SA-Australia route has already seen fares tumble 30% as V Australia launched its JNBMEL service this week. Addressing onlookers at the very first check-in of V Australia passengers in Johannesburg, a jovial Richard Branson explained how 16 years ago he had begged authorities for a licence to operate flights between the UK and South Africa to break the monopoly SAA and British Airways had enjoyed on the route for years. “With SAA and Qantas acting as one airline there has been no competition on the Australia route but we’re here to change this,” said Richard. V Australia ce, Brett Godfrey, highlighted that, as a result, fares to South Africa had been excessive in the past. “Since we announced our intention to fly to Johannesburg, fares have dropped 30% and today they’re down an additional 10% as we launch our service. We’re full tonight and we’re full coming back.” As a result of strong forward bookings on the route and pending the arrival of its next B777 aircraft, V Australia is boosting its schedule from two to three return weekly services from December 16. “And we aim to increase this to a daily flight,” said Richard. The new service to Johannesburg will mean South Africans can, for the
Now you can fly to Europe from R6000*All year round. Happy Easter! EASTER. SWISS STYLE. Our personal touch, our loving attention to detail and that little extra in terms of service is our way of offering our guests an unforgettable travel experience. So much so that a flight is often too short to enjoy everything we offer. For information and booking contact us directly on 0860 999 444 lines open 24 hours a day. * Prices inclusive of taxes and surcharges.
TNW3858SD
first time, fly around the world with one brand. “South African travellers will be able to fly to Australia and then across to Los Angeles on V Australia, on to New York with Virgin America, followed by a flight to London and then back to South Africa on Virgin Atlantic.” Currently, Qantas and SAA own almost 70% of the market flying from SA to Australia. Recently Australia’s International Air Services Commission granted Qantas permission to renew its codeshare with SAA until December 31, provided the two airlines priced and sold their services on the route independently. The airlines will also only be allowed to operate the codeshare if they have at least 10 return services per week. For several years, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has expressed concerns over the “high airfares and rising load factors” on the route, saying the QF-ZA codeshare meant the two airlines had no incentive to price more aggressively to expand the market or introduce new services. The commission said there was “increasing evidence that overall public benefits were being eroded by a lack of competition on the route”. It added: “While the introduction of the codeshare arrangements continue to generate cost savings for Qantas and SAA, there is no evidence that these efficiencies have been passed on to consumers in the form To page 2 of lower fares.”