Johannesburg – South African Airways (SAA) has seen its passenger volumes grow by 6% in the three months since their new financial year started in April, the airline said on Tuesday.
At a media briefing at Airways Park in Johannesburg, acting Chief Executive Officer Nico Bezuidenhout said this was due to SAA utilising its seats better and selling more of their available seats in spite of weak demand.
“Demand in the South African market remained weak with a 7% growth in available capacity across the domestic market against overall growth of over 2%,” said Bezuidenhout. This implied an oversupply of 5% which could put pressure on prices in the months ahead.
The company said it had benefited from lower oil prices which had help reduce operating costs by 14% compared to the same period last year. SAA said Africa was its best performing market segment, with all routes showing positive growth. It had also launched a route from Accra in Ghana to Washington DC in the United States with the first flight scheduled for the beginning of August this year.
ANA