While many airlines have initially thrown all their resources into launching new routes to smaller European cities amid a spike in American tourists to the continent post-pandemic, the tide is starting to shift toward demand for other continents.
At the start of spring 2024, United Airlines (UAL) announced new flights to Tokyo and Cebu in the Philippines for the summer while also increasing the number of flights it runs to Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong from the West Coast of the United States. Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Norse Atlantic (NRSAF) have both set their sights on Africa with either new or returning flights to Ghana and South Africa.
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Amid competitors’ interest in the latter, United Airlines’ Director of Sales for Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, and Israel Thorsten Lettnin told aviation website Simple Flying that the airline sees strong opportunities in expansion to Cape Town. The airline launched its first flight to Cape Town from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in 2019 and currently runs 13 weekly flights to the country from the U.S. — six flights a week to Johannesburg and a daily service to Cape Town.
United speaks of ‘stable demand throughout the year, further growth opportunities’
“If you look at the demand for travel to Cape Town specifically, one would think that it is volatile and goes with the temperature, i.e., there's less demand during the South African winter,” Lettnin told Simple Flying. “However, if you look at the international arrivals from the United States to South Africa, it's within a relatively narrow corridor. There is stable demand throughout the entire year, which shows us there are potentially further growth opportunities.”
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As explained by Lettnin, traveler numbers between the U.S. and Cape Town formerly used to be more seasonal but are currently seeing high demand amid a rise in people taking long-awaited trips to faraway destinations post-pandemic. Over the last three years, United has been working to expand its partnership with South African airline Airlink so that passengers could connect to more destinations on the African continent with Cape Town or Johannesburg as a hub.
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Growing demand for Africa has been slowly getting noticed (and acted upon) in the aviation industry. Back in April, budget airline Norse Atlantic challenged the existing duopoly of travelers having to pick between either British Airways and South African Airways to go between Cape Town and London with a new flight for significantly less than offered by a mainstream airline.
The flight to Cape Town from London Gatwick International Airport (LGW) will start running on Oct. 28 and cost around $600 each way. The current range for a mainstream carrier currently starts at $2,000 for a round-trip.
"We are thrilled to introduce our new route between London and Cape Town," Norse Founder and CEO Bjorn Tore Larsen said in a statement at the time. "At Norse Atlantic Airways, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the wonders of the world and our new route to Cape Town will allow many more people to visit this amazing destination.”
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