Comair to fly Joburg-Maputo, Gaborone

17 March 2011

Comair, the operator of British Airways in southern Africa and low-fare airline kulula.com, is expanding its African network by launching flights from Johannesburg's Lanseria Airport to Maputo in Mozambique and Gaborone in Botswana.

The new routes, operational from 3 May, will be operated under the British Airways livery, with the flight schedule including daily return flights from Monday to Friday to both destinations, with double daily flights on specific days of the week.

"This will add huge value to our customers travelling on these new routes by allowing them to complete a full day's work in the countries and return on the same day without having to incur accommodation expenses," Comair executive Stuart Cochrane said in a statement earlier this month.

Comair has partnered with Solenta Aviation and leased a 66-seater ATR72 turboprop aircraft which will be operating on the new routes.

"We believe our partnership with Solenta Aviation who has an outstanding reputation of operating turboprop aircraft in the industry will continue to grow to include additional aircraft and more routes from both Lanseria and other potential hubs within southern Africa in the future," said Cochrane.

Lanseria regional hub

According to Comair, the company has been exploring the idea of a regional hub at Lanseria Airport as part of its expansion plans into Africa for some time. The airport has long been identified by Comair as a well-positioned and popular travelling option for Comair customers living in the north and west of Johannesburg.

Apart from its ease of access, Lanseria offers lower airport taxes than OR Tambo International, and has a great track record of flights departing and arriving on time.

"We are confident that the implementation of this first phase of expansion to our African network will be well-received by our customers and provide them with an alternative to current regional flights operating from OR Tambo International Airport," said Cochrane.

Comair will initially be offering eight return flights per week between Lanseria and Maputo and seven return flights per week to and from Gaborone, with the service to Gaborone growing to 10 return flights before the end of the second quarter of 2011.

SAinfo reporter