The LATAM Airlines Group says it will relaunch a non-stop flight between São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport, Brazil, and OR Tambo International Airport, in 2023.
The route will resume in July 2023 after more than three years, following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the new route, customers will be able to travel between Joburg and Brazil in 9 hours on one of the three direct weekly flights to be carried out on Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which accommodate 300 passengers, the group said.
“Johannesburg is another milestone in our international resumption movement, which is being carried out in a strategic way, expanding the offer where there is passenger demand. This flight will meet a corporate demand that has always been relevant between the countries, in addition to the potential tourism at the destination,” it said.
In October 2019, there were around 43 weekly flights between Africa and Latin America. Six airlines operated ten routes; all of them landed in Brazilian destinations such as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Recife, Salvador, and Fortaleza.
Currently, there are only 10 weekly flights between both regions, operated by TAAG and Ethiopian Airlines. TAAG flies from Luanda to São Paulo, while Ethiopian operates a daily service from Addis Ababa to São Paulo.
The LATAM Airlines flights join several new flights launching in South Africa in the coming months.
Qantas – Perth to Johannesburg – 1 November 2022
From 1 November, Qantas will operate the only direct service from Perth to South Africa, operating three return flights per week on its Airbus A330 aircraft.
The new flights will cut more than six hours from the fastest current travel time, with customers heading to Johannesburg from Perth currently having to fly on Qantas via Sydney, or via the Middle East.
United – Cape Town to Washington DC – 18 November 2022
United Airlines will fly a direct, non-stop service between Washington Dulles Airport and Cape Town International Airport.
The route positions United as the first carrier to provide a non-stop, roundtrip service from US capital, Washington DC, to Cape Town. Flights will operate three times a week, with the first take-off on 18 November 2022.
One-way flights are from R10,679, with a round trip priced from R14,789.
Air Mauritius – Cape Town to Mauritius (overnight) – 16 November 2022
Air Mauritius is set to resume non-stop flights from Cape Town to Mauritius from 16 November.
The airline said it will offer two weekly flights leaving at night (22h05) from Cape Town and arriving in the early morning in Mauritius (05h10).
Air Mauritius currently offers flights from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo with a one-way economy class ticket costing around R5,500. FlySafair earlier this year also extended its route capacity to include twice-weekly flights from OR Tambo to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport.
Delta – Cape Town to Atlanta, USA – 17 December 2022
Delta airlines announced a new nonstop route from Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport to Cape Town International Airport.
The new route between Atlanta and Cape Town will be available by the beginning of 17 December, the airline said. It comes as part of the carrier’s expansion from the largest airline hub in the world, located in Atlanta, into Africa.
Read: Good news for flight ticket prices in South Africa
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