SAA and TAP Portugal sign codeshare agreement

News added by James Smith under World Travel News

South African Airways (SAA) and TAP Portugal, both members of the international airline network Star Alliance, have signed a codeshare agreement which establishes broad commercial cooperation between the two airlines.

The agreement includes a codeshare on the route from Lisbon to Johannesburg, which is operated by TAP, and to other cities within South Africa operated by SAA, such as Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London. Cities in Portugal included in the agreement are Funchal, Faro and Porto.

The partnership is due to start in January 2009, subject to government approval. It will allow improved and expanded connectivity between the route networks of the two airlines, with significant benefits to be offered to the passengers.

Through this agreement, TAP will be able to place its code on SAA flights operating between Johannesburg and other domestic cities within South Africa, thus offering additional service to its customers.

In an effort to meet the highest expectations of passengers, both TAP and SAA will keep pursuing the enhancement of their network as a top priority. This is reflected in the joint operation which reinforces the travel options available to customers between Portugal and South Africa.

“Adding TAP as a code share partner adds even further to the options available to our customers wishing to explore Portugal, a very popular destination for South Africans,” says Jason Krause, SAA Head of Business Development.

“South African Airways is a very valuable Star Alliance partner and adding this new code-share agreement to our bilateral partnership will provide considerable added value, both in connectivity and convenience to our passengers, through a wider range of services and destinations” said Jose Guedes Dias, VP Alliances & External Relations TAP.

“We are looking forward to working even more closely together with SAA and reinforcing our partnership, to allow further travel benefits and seamless access to new cities in Africa.”

TAP and SAA have code share arrangements with a wide range of international airlines. The latest addition allows SAA’s and TAP’s international passengers further seamless access to numerous destinations in Portugal and in South Africa, from Johannesburg and Lisbon, respectively.

SAA will place its flight code, SA, on flights operated by TAP Portugal, bringing the Portuguese capital effectively into its network. Through this agreement, both SAA and TAP will also place their codes on the respective domestic flights operating to other cities within Portugal and South Africa.

SAA customers will have the convenience of booking onward flights to Lisbon, Faro, Funchal and Porto from South Africa with a simplified itinerary using the SA flight code. In the case of TAP customers, the same will apply to Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth.

source: The Financial

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