South African Airways and Avianca Brasil launch codeshare agreement
Both carriers are Star Alliance members; customers are already able to earn and redeem points and miles in both loyalty programmes
São Paulo, 17 May 2016 – South African Airways (SAA), the leading carrier on the African continent, announced that it has implemented a codeshare agreement with its Brazilian Star Alliance partner, Avianca Brasil, offering customers further destinations into Brazil.
Through the agreement SAA customers will be able to travel on selected Avianca Brasil flights under the “SA” code, connecting São Paulo’s international airport to Brasília, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Goiânia, Juazeiro do Norte, Maceió, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. SAA operates ten weekly frequencies between Johannesburg and São Paulo.
In turn Avianca Brasil customers will travel on the “O6” Avianca Brasil code from Brazilian destinations through São Paulo’s to Johannesburg. SAA will operate the São Paulo’s – Johannesburg leg.
Both carriers are already selling tickets through all their sales channels for travel effective 17 May.
“Trade between our countries has also grown significantly over the last few years, with Brazil currently being South Africa's largest trading partner in Latin America. Owing to the regional importance of South Africa and Brazil, as well as the BRICS trade relationship, the codeshare relationship between the two STAR Alliance carriers is of vital importance for the advancement of the broader development of Africa and South America,” said Musa Zwane, SAA Acting CEO.
“We are pleased to offer our customers this additional international connection. Through South African Airways, passengers of Avianca Brasil will have access not only to Johannesburg, but to other excellent destinations in our partner’s route system,” said Frederico Pedreira, CEO of Avianca Brasil.
Trade and investment ties between South Africa and Brazil have been strengthening, underpinned by the reach and influence these two countries enjoy in their respective continents and the codeshare is only a logical step to support travel and promote connectivity between the two regions for business or leisure.
Besides enjoying the benefit of through check-in, dispatching baggage to the final destination, customers who are members of Avianca’s Amigo or South African Airways’ Voyager frequent flyer programmes will benefit from being able to earn points/miles and qualifying themselves for programme status upgrades and redemption on all 18,500 daily flights operated by Star Alliance carriers to 1,330 airports in 192 countries.
In addition, members of Gold and Diamond categories will be entitled to preferential check-in, extra baggage allowance, priority boarding and access to VIP lounges.
Bookings on SAA can be made effortlessly directly through the airline’s website (www.flysaa.com), via telephone 0861 606 606 (South Africa) or +27 11 978 1111 (other locations) and through travel agencies worldwide.
Affordable fares to Johannesburg can be found on the Avianca Brasil website (www.avianca.com.br), via telephone at 4004-4040 (São Paulo and main capitals) or 0300-789-8160 (other locations) and travel agencies worldwide.
About South African Airways
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 74 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, SA Airlink and its low cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the 'Best Airline in Africa’ Award in the regional category for thirteen consecutive years and the winner of ‘Best Airline staff in Africa’ for four years. SAA has been named the coolest domestic airline at the Sunday Times Generation Next Awards.
About Avianca Brasil
Avianca Brasil has been a scheduled carrier since 2002. Covering 22 domestic and one international destination with nearly 220 daily flights, the company transported 8.5 million passengers in 2015 on its modern fleet of 41 Airbus aircraft. As a Star Alliance member, the airline offers customers access to more than 1,300 airports worldwide through the networks of its 27 international air partners. Avianca Brasil is widely recognized for the quality of its products and services, such as free meals, individual in-flight entertainment and more legroom, in addition to its Amigo loyalty program, which has over 3.5 registered customers. For more information, please visit: www.avianca.com.br, follow @AviancaBrasil and join Avianca Brasil on Facebook.
For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:+27 82 333 3880
Office: +27 11 978 2298
Web: www.flysaa.com