South African Airways announces two new direct flights to Brazil

South African Airways (SAA) began selling tickets this Thursday (29) for two new flights to Guarulhos airport (SP), originating in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The launch flights will depart Cape Town on October 31 and Johannesburg on November 6. Embratur, the Brazilian International Tourism Promotion Agency, is SAA's partner in launching these new routes and will work to promote Brazilian destinations on the African continent.

Each of the routes will operate with a frequency of two flights a week, departing from Cape Town on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and departing from Johannesburg on Mondays and Thursdays. From October to December, the flight will depart Cape Town at 12:55 p.m. and arrive in São Paulo at 4:35 p.m. The return flight from São Paulo will depart at 6:05 pm and arrive in Cape Town at 6:40 am. From Johannesburg, the flight will depart at 11:20 am and arrive in São Paulo at 4:15 pm and the return flight will depart São Paulo at 5:45 pm, arriving in Johannesburg at 7:45 am.

“We have created an effective schedule that is ideal for both business and leisure travelers and boasts fantastic connectivity to both Brazil and South Africa,” said SAA Commercial Director Mr. Tebogo Tsimane. In a statement to the South African market, the airline highlighted the importance of São Paulo as "the financial center of the country and one of the largest financial centers in the world." SAA also highlights the versatility of the capital of São Paulo, “an ideal destination for business or pleasure, which offers a wide selection of museums, cultural centers, theaters and first class cinemas. It also has world-class nightclubs, bars and restaurants.”

Embratur president Marcelo Freixo praises the partnership that resulted in the announcement of the new flights. “Our reconnection with the African continent is part of Brazil's diplomatic and commercial strategy, and Embratur is part of that strategy, after all, tourism is the way to visit us and strengthen our cultural ties. But tourism is also an opportunity to do business, to facilitate the holding of events, meetings and for our economy to be more and more integrated”, he said.

In 2019, Brazil received 25 thousand South African tourists, but last year only 5.4 thousand visited our country. Resuming air connectivity with South Africa is one of Embratur's strategic priorities. The new flight operated by SAA will offer, in the course of a year, at least 46,000 new seats to Brazil.

“We are delighted to announce São Paulo as our first international destination since the airline successfully emerged from an intense business rescue process and lockdown due to Covid-19. It also marks the return of our long distance service from Cape Town. The SAA teams are hard at work behind the scenes to prepare our operations for the long-awaited launch of the South America route,” said interim CEO John Lamola.

“Nuestra decisión de iniciar el relanzamiento de nuestro servicio de largo radio con São Paulo se tomó con base en un riguroso análisis de factibilidad de la ruta. La sustentabilidad ha estado en el corazón del enfoque de SAA desde nuestro reinicio. Como aerolínea de bandera nacional, SAA se enorgullece de llevar la hospitalidad sudafricana a las rutas internacionales, y los viajeros hacia y desde la ruta de São Paulo pueden esperar experimentar nuestro galardonado servicio al cliente”, agregó Lamola.