South African Airways is currently repositioning itself as a crucial network carrier to ensure strategic connectivity both in and outside the Africa continent. The airline in recent times has opened flights to some key destinations in Africa, South America and Australia.
Speaking at an exclusive dinner with CEOs of top travel agents and cargo partners in the country including Wakanow, Quantum Travels, American Express, Touchdown Travels, and Business Travel Management at the Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, The Chief Executive Officer of South African Airways, Prof, John Lamola noted that the airline has gone from being a restart to rebuilding the airline as the renowned global brand it is known for.
Expressing gratitude to the top Travel and Cargo Agents at the forum, Prof. Lamola declared; “We are consolidating our routes by having more frequencies. Lagos is not just one piece in our network but a very strategic route for us and by March 2026 we will have daily flights to Lagos. We also want to connect West Africa with Cape Town because the market demands it. The future going forwards is one of cooperation and holding hands together.”
He added that; “SAA has grown from being a restart. We are repositioning and rebuilding the airline to survive on its own together with our strategic partners. We have a five years corporate plan of going through a renewal and modernization of our fleet and to elevate our customer experience grounded on our African uniqueness. The aim is to have 50 aircraft in the next three years. We have 20 now and we are expanding carefully, Prof. Lamola said.”
SAA’s Regional Manager – Africa, Middle East and Indian Ocean, Mr. Ohis Ehimiaghe thanked the CEO for coming to Lagos and appreciated him for his speech which was filled with a lot of inspiring insights and knowledge. He also thanked CEOs of the Travel Trade who made time out of their busy schedules to attend the dinner. He commended them for their passion and enthusiasm in driving the industry forward and recognized their commitment to the growth and enhancement of the travel sector.
Acknowledging the support and patronage of the Travel Agents over the years, Mrs. Kemi Leke-Bamtefa, SAA Country Manager in Nigeria said that; “SAA is a network carrier that offers seamless connections to various destinations. She added that SAA has opened new routes including Lubumbashi and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania as well as its newly established flights to Perth in Australia. She therefore urged the travel agents to support all the routes in the airline’s network.
During a feedback session, some of the Travel Agents shared their experiences working with SAA for over 20 years. Mr. Femi Adefope, MD, Skylogistics said: “It’s been an interesting time for us. The potential SAA saw in the Nigerian market many years ago still exists today. We are happy that our business is growing and we shall have more flights that will hopefully connect us to Cape Town. I am a diehard supporter of SAA and we will give you the support that I required.” He added that the team of Mrs. Kemi Leke-Bamtefa and Mr. Ohis Ehimiaghe are very professional, most knowledgeable and highly respected in the industry.
Mr. Yinka Folami, President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) welcomed the CEO to Nigeria and expressed delight with the impressive performance of SAA in the last financial year by turning profit, adding that; “On behalf of NANTA we want to say in all area of our industry concerns, SAA has no fault in any.” Mr. Folami however urged closing the gaps between Nigerians and South Africans by relaxing the visa regimes on both ends in order to boost more trade and tourism between both countries.
Adding her voice to an earlier call made by Prof. Lamola while delivering his address that Nigeria should work towards having a stand at this year’s INDABA Travel Show in Durban, the President of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators, Mrs. Bolaji Mustapha said it was a welcome development and urged the airline to work more closely with the South African Consulate to encourage more leisure travel in the area of visas.
This was also reiterated by Mrs. Nike Macaulay, MD, Wakanow who thanked Prof. Lamola for gracing the travel community with his presence and noted that the leisure aspect of travel to South Africa has been affected over the years and thanked the CEO of SAA for his support to have a Nigerian stand at INDABA as a step in reversing the situation.
