Hilka Birns/JOHANNESBURG
Regional feeder carrier South African Airlink is to upgrade its fleet with up to 60 Embraer ERJ-135 regional jets.
The agreement, which includes firm orders worth R2.5 billion ($332 million) for 30 aircraft, plus options on another 30, has been strongly influenced by recent moves towards 'open skies' in Africa. The 37-seaters will be delivered in eight annual batches, starting with the delivery of four aircraft next year. Later commitments can be converted into the 70-seater ERJ-170.
The order will triple the fleet of Johannesburg-based South African Airways (SAA) feeder airline. Its 16 29-seat BAe J41 turboprops will be retained for domestic services.
Chief executive Rodger Foster says the expanded fleet and the airline's new relationship with SAA - which recently acquired 10% in SA Airlink - will enable the carrier to increase its presence and use new route opportunities in Africa.
He says the fleet expansion was spurred by new opportunities on the continent. "Moves towards liberalisation of African skies have paved the way for the scrapping of many dated bilateral air service agreements. South Africa and Zimbabwe, for example, recently entered into a new agreement likely to be the first of many such revisions between South Africa and other African states," he says.
Destinations likely to be served by the new fleet from Johannesburg include Bulawayo (Zimbabwe), Ndola and Livingstone (Zambia), Blantyre and Lilongwe (Malawi), plus East and West Africa.
Source: Flight International
