As borders reopen, Emirates will expand their connectivity through gateways in Cape Town and Johannesburg to Airlink’s more than 25 domestic and over 20 regional destinations in Southern Africa.
On Tuesday (October 20, 2020), Emirates announced a new interline agreement with South African carrier Airlink, providing enhanced connectivity to customers of both airlines. Emirates’ guests will enjoy further connections via the airline’s Cape Town and Johannesburg gateways with over 25 domestic and more than 20 regional destinations in Airlink’s Southern Africa network. The new partnership provides onward connections not offered by any other airline and offers the convenience of single-ticket travel and one-stop baggage check-in. Customers transferring from Cape Town and Johannesburg will enjoy service to domestic destinations including Bloemfontein, George, Upington, Nelspruit, Hoedspruit and Port Elizabeth. Additionally, travelers can enjoy onward connections in regional Southern Africa to points such as Gaborone, Kasane, Vilanculos, Maun, Victoria Falls, Maputo, Windhoek, Harare, Lusaka, Ndola, Bulawayo and Livingstone. In Tuesday’s announcement, Emirates President, Sir Tim Clark, said,
“Emirates is pleased to partner with Airlink on a new interline agreement that will help us strengthen our presence and give customers more choice, flexibility and enhanced connections across 45 cities in Southern Africa. We are committed to our operations in South Africa, as we continue to look at ways to build our extended network for customers and help them benefit with diverse travel options. The interline agreement that has gone into effect with Airlink is only the start of further collaboration, and we are looking forward to exploring more opportunities to widen the scope of our partnership in the future.”
Also commenting on today’s interline agreement announcement, Airlink’s CEO, Mr. Rodger Foster, added,
“We are proud and excited about our new interline commercial agreement with Emirates. We have a deep respect for the airline, its values and its global reach. We are confident that the relationship will deliver enhanced travel options to customers given the designed interconnectivity that will be enabled at OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport. Airlink’s offering of connectable destinations includes most key points within Southern Africa such as; Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London, Bloemfontein, Harare, Lusaka, Maputo, Gaborone, Windhoek, amongst many others.”
Emirates resumed service to Cape Town and Johannesburg on October 1st and flights to Durban restarted on October 8, 2020. The carrier continues to expand their route network with nearly 100 destinations on offer via Dubai.
Emirates is an award-winning international airline with a global network spanning six continents that connects passengers and facilitates global trade through their modern Dubai hub. The carrier’s fleet consists of spacious and comfortable Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s. Emirates maintains a culturally diverse workforce with team members from over 160 nations. Since the airline was founded, Emirates has received over 500 international awards for operational excellence, innovative services and industry-leading products. Emirates is one of the world’s most recognized and respected airline brands.
Airlink is a privately-owned regional carrier serving a network of smaller Southern African destinations. The carrier now operates independently under their unique 4Z flight code and is South Africa’s largest independent airline, in terms of flight movements. The carrier operates a fleet of over 50 commercial jets and in 2019 carried over two million customers on 55 routes to destinations in nine African countries and St. Helena Island.
Source: Emirates