Latest news with #TebogoTsimane
Time Out
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time Out
New SAA routes for Cape Town... including Mauritius!
South African Airways plans to spread its wings with a clutch of new flights, including two exciting new routes out of Cape Town. Travel News by TNW is reporting that SAA's Chief Commercial Officer Tebogo Tsimane confirmed the new routes at the recent Travel Indaba held in Durban. The most exciting route on the horizon is a direct seasonal flight between Cape Town and Mauritius, set to launch in November 2025. Just in time for a summer escape, this new route offers a smoother way to reach the Indian Ocean island, without the usual Johannesburg layover. Air Mauritius already offers a direct service from Cape Town, and increased competition will hopefully see fares fall. Also, the scheduling of the Mauritius flight is a nightmare start to an island holiday: an 11:35pm departure from Cape Town, a night with little sleep, and an early morning – 6:40am – arrival at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. Let's hope the SAA schedule is a little less brutal! Also on the cards is a direct Cape Town to Durban service, although no launch date has been confirmed yet. This route has been missing from SAA's schedule for years, and its return will make cross-country hops easier for both business and leisure travellers. Again, you could use FlySafair (their R11 sale was a massive hit!) or Airlink (check out their Gaborone flights too) right now, but more competition will mean more options, and hopefully cheaper flights. Cape Town isn't the only city receiving attention. Other updates include a new Johannesburg-George route launching in April 2026 and a Johannesburg-East London service still awaiting a launch date. Regionally, flights from Johannesburg to Gaborone, Botswana, are scheduled to start in October 2025. SAA is also polishing up its long-haul ambitions, with plans to restart intercontinental services to Mumbai, India, and to launch new flights to Guangzhou, China in 2026.
The South African
19-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
SAA to launch new domestic and regional routes
South African Airways (SAA) will be adding new routes starting this year, with several new domestic and regional services planned. According to Travel News , SAA's Chief Commercial Officer, Tebogo Tsimane, confirmed the airline's plans to expand routes at the recent Africa's Travel Indaba. Tsimane revealed that the airline would be adding services to the following destinations: SAA domestic services: Johannesburg-George, launching April 2026 Johannesburg-East London, launch date still to be confirmed Cape Town-Durban, launch date still to be confirmed SAA regional services Johannesburg-Gaborone, launching October 2025 Seasonal flights between Cape Town and Mauritius, launching November 2025 In other route-related news from SAA, the airline's initial plans to introduce flights to Mumbai, India has faced delays, due to ongoing challenges with aircraft availability. SAA had aimed to launch its Mumbai route in October this year. But, due to difficulties acquiring suitable aircraft, the timeline has been pushed back. SAA now aims to announce the Mumbai route and open it for sales by July this year, with flights expected to kick off 2026. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
15-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
No aircraft: SAA pushes back Mumbai route
South African Airways' (SAA) initial plans to introduce flights to Mumbai, India has faced delays, due to ongoing challenges with aircraft availability. According to Travel News , the airline had aimed to launch its Mumbai route in October this year. But, due to difficulties acquiring suitable aircraft, the timeline has been pushed back. SAA now aims to announce the Mumbai route and open it for sales by July this year, with flights expected to kick off 2026. SAA's Chief Commercial Officer, Tebogo Tsimane, revealed to Travel News that Mumbai was just one of several Asia routes on their radar. The airline is considering two, or potentially three, routes in the region, possibly to China, Bangkok and Bali. However, these will all depend on aircraft availability and route economics. This past January, SAA acquired two leased Airbus A320 aircraft, sourced from AerCap, an aircraft leasing company, seeing its fleet size increase to 20 planes. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
