South African Airways touches down at Abu Dhabi

On 29 March, South African Airways was greeted with a water arch salute upon arrival at Abu Dhabi Airport, a route which originated from Johannesburg.

• South African Airways increased its intercontinental offering with the addition of daily flights from its Johannesburg(JNB) base to Abu Dhabi (AUH) on 29 March, a route served by its 222-seat A330-200s. The 6,293-kilometre sector to the capital of the UAE is already flown by Etihad Airways with daily flights. Commenting on the route launch, Nico Bezuidenhout, acting CEO, SAA, said: “The addition of Abu Dhabi to our international route network delivers not only an important new destination for our customers, but also sees SAA increase its Asian network substantially. The codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, as well as the twice-daily frequency on the route, should generate significant volume and positive returns for both South African and UAE business and tourism travel volumes, with onward network end points increasing greater reach.”