COMAIR Limited, operator of British Airways in Southern Africa and kulula.com announced it will be expanding its African route network and will soon commence with scheduled flights from Johannesburg to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and to Walvis Bay in Namibia.

The airline was granted the rights to the two new African routes by the South African Air Licensing Council, which forms part of the Department of Transport and grants licences to airlines and controls domestic and regional air services. The additional routes will add to Comair’s existing regional African network from Johannesburg to Harare, Livingstone in Zambia, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Windhoek in Namibia and Mauritius.  

Says Stuart Cochrane, Comair’s Executive Manager for Sales and Route Development, “The granting of the new licences will bring much needed competition to the regional African routes which have been dominated by government-owned airlines.  This increased competition will also make for more competitive fare pricing, improvement in service levels and additional choice for customers.

“The entry of a private, non state-subsidized airline competitor on the routes will support the South African government’s ‘Airlift Strategy’ which aims to increase air access into and out of South Africa, and will support economic growth and tourism,” concludes Cochrane.

Comair is in the process of finalising schedules for the new routes and will inform customers when bookings open.