Latest news with #JohnLamola
Zawya
18 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
South African Airways to launch Cape Town–Mauritius route in December 2025
South African Airways (SAA) will launch a new direct route between Cape Town and Mauritius on 9 December 2025, adding a strategic leisure destination to its growing regional network. The service will operate three times a week — on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays — with two departure time options. The outbound flight will leave Cape Town at 9.25am and arrive in Mauritius at 4.30pm. The return flight is scheduled to depart at 5.20pm and land in Cape Town at 9.30pm. SAA says a temporary adjustment to twice-weekly frequency will be made from mid-January to mid-March 2026 to align with seasonal demand. "Connecting Cape Town with Mauritius is a fascinating achievement that our team has been aspiring towards for quite some time," says Professor John Lamola, SAA CEO. "The introduction of this route demonstrates SAA's role in promoting leisure travel across the region and supports the broader tourism objectives for both South Africa and Mauritius." Tebogo Tsimane, SAA chief commercial officer, adds that the flight schedule was designed in consultation with local tour operators to match travel patterns and peak holiday planning. Bookings for the new route are now open via and accredited travel agents. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
SAA introduces new direct route from Cape Town to Mauritius in December
State-owned South African Airways (SAA) has announced that it will launch its first direct flights between Cape Town and Mauritius. Image: File South African Airways (SAA) has announced that it will launch its first direct flights between Cape Town and Mauritius on December 9. According to the carrier, the decision marks a strategic expansion of its network and enhances connectivity for travellers in the Western Cape. 'Connecting Cape Town with Mauritius is a fascinating achievement that our team has been aspiring towards for quite some time. The introduction of this route demonstrates SAA's role in promoting leisure travel across the region and supports the broader tourism objectives for both South Africa and Mauritius,' said SAA CEO John Lamola. The service will initially operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with passengers able to choose from two departure slots. "Passengers can select from two convenient departure times. The outbound flight departs Cape Town at 09:25am, arriving in Mauritius at 4:30pm, with a total flight duration of approximately five hours. "The return leg departs Mauritius at 5:20pm, arriving back in Cape Town at 9:30pm". A temporary adjustment will be made between mid-January and mid-March 2026, when the service will operate twice weekly, in line with seasonal demand. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ According to the airline, the route has been developed in consultation with local travel partners to ensure it meets peak holiday travel needs and offers maximum convenience to leisure travellers. 'This convenience of the flight schedule was carefully developed through rigorous engagement with our South African tour operator partners to ensure it aligns with traveler preferences and peak holiday planning, fulfilling our mission to offer our customers greater flexibility and convenience,' adds Tebogo Tsimane, the Chief Commercial Officer said. Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel. Cape Argus
Time Out
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Out
The Airlink sale you don't want to miss + SAA to launch new Mauritius route
It's the Airlink sale you don't want to miss - today only! Airlink is running a special one-day promotion today, Tuesday, 29 July 2025, offering 30% off the base fare on selected flights. Tickets are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase, making it the perfect time to plan and save. It's the perfect time to plan your mini-break from Cape Town to Durban, Namibia or St Helena - all routes offered by the Southern African airline. Full details and bookings for the limited Airlink sale are available here. SAA Launches Direct Cape Town–Mauritius Flights Ahead of Festive Season South African Airways (SAA) will launch a new direct route between Cape Town and Mauritius from Tuesday, 9 December 2025, enhancing regional connectivity for travellers in the Western Cape. Flights will operate three times a week—on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays—with two departure time options. Each leg of the journey will take approximately five hours. Between mid-January and mid-March 2026, flights will reduce to twice weekly in line with seasonal demand. SAA CEO Professor John Lamola says the route supports broader tourism goals for both countries, while CCO Tebogo Tsimane highlights the schedule's alignment with peak travel periods.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
South African Airways connects Cape Town to Mauritius with new direct flights
There is no shortage of activities to explore beyond the sandy beaches in Mauritius. Flights are set to start on December 9, with flights scheduled to operate three times weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. South African Airways (SAA) has announced plans to initiate its first-ever direct flights between Cape Town and Mauritius . "Connecting Cape Town with Mauritius is a fascinating achievement that our team has been aspiring towards for quite some time. The introduction of this route demonstrates SAA's role in promoting leisure travel across the region and supports the broader tourism objectives for both South Africa and Mauritius," said SAA chief executive officer, Professor John Lamola. In light of evolving travel demands, a temporary adjustment will occur between mid-January and mid-March 2026. "This convenience of the flight schedule was carefully developed through rigorous engagement with our South African tour operator partners to ensure it aligns with traveler preferences and peak holiday planning," added Tebogo Tsimane, chief commercial officer. For travellers venturing to the tropical paradise of Mauritius, there is no shortage of activities to explore beyond the sandy beaches.
The Citizen
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
SAA slips back into loss as fuel and plane leasing costs spiral
Reports a R352m loss for the last financial year after a R210m profit in 2024. The recovery of the airline as a global aviation brand is on track, says its CEO. Picture: Moneyweb Soaring fuel prices and a 30% increase in plane leasing costs pushed airline operator South African Airways (SAA) into a R352 million loss for the year to March 2025, despite a 23% increase in revenue to R7 billion. This follows a R210 million profit the prior year. Rand volatility resulted in currency translation losses of R415 million. The airline was hit with several external shocks, such as a 46% increase in fuel costs to R1.9 billion due to the Ukraine conflict and a global shortage of aircraft which pushed up leasing costs by 30%. Delays in the delivery of budgeted aircraft had a negative impact in revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), which reversed from a positive R436 million in 2024 to a negative R90 million in 2025. The cash position remains strong at R1.4 billion at year-end. It also has zero borrowings and R6.4 billion in equity. The airline received R50.7 billion in government bailouts between 2007 and 2022. ALSO READ: Has SAA turned the corner or is it flying too close to the sun? Routes and aircraft SAA currently serves 17 destinations, including two intercontinental routes to Perth in Australia, and São Paulo in Brazil. In January this year it extended services to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing its total coverage to 17 destinations in 12 countries. Through the Star Alliance with 25 other member airlines, it provides services to 192 countries. In the 2024 financial year it operated just 10 aircraft serving 15 destinations. The number of destinations increased 42% over the last financial year, with new flights into Africa and flights to São Paulo from both Johannesburg and Cape Town. Earlier this year it expanded its fleet to 20, announcing plans to expand this further to 25 before yearend. This compares with its fleet of 49 aircraft in 2019, prior to being placed in business rescue. The airline was taken out of business rescue in 2021. The airline's waning financial position was aggravated by the Covid shutdowns in 2020, resulting in the suspension of services to long-haul destinations such as London, New York and Hong Kong. ALSO READ: SAA quietly lifts off as load factors show signs of recovery 'Strategic reconstruction' 'These results detail a phase of intense uncertainty in the resuscitation of SAA as the assumption of the company's control by the strategic equity partner was awaited,' says Group CEO John Lamola. 'Since then, we have entered a period of structured and strategic reconstruction of the business, focusing on institutionalising robust governance and management systems, whilst implementing plans on aircraft fleet and route network expansion and elevation of customer experience'. The latest financial results mark the last of the outstanding audits from the business rescue period, with all prior year adjustments now resolved. A case in point is R431 million recognised as a prior year adjustment to retained earnings rather than sundry income in the current year. This amount relates to business rescue creditor obligations. ALSO READ: SAA heading for crash unless equity partner comes on board Audit Health Plan To strengthen its financial reporting, SAA says it has launched a programme called Audit Health Plan to standardise key controls, expand internal audit capacity and strengthen collaboration with external auditors. 'After six consecutive audits in three years, SAA is firmly back on track to meet all statutory reporting deadlines, and to devote its efforts towards improved audit outcomes,' says the company in a statement. Despite the loss for the year, Lamola believes SAA is on the recovery track. 'We have strengthened the channels of our revenue streams and cost containment measures; we have a debt-free, asset-rich balance sheet that is supporting the steady growth of the airline and the recovery of SAA as a global aviation brand.' This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
