FlySafair (FA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) is rolling out its regional expansion strategy with plans to debut daily flights from 3Q23 to Windhoek International, Namibia and Harare International, Zimbabwe, with daily flights to Zanzibar, Tanzania, to be launched earlier by 2Q23, thanks to an existing charter agreement.
This follows the recent granting of route rights to these destinations, following the airline's application to South Africa's International Air Services Council in late June 2022, the airline announced in a statement.
"We've already begun laying the groundwork in several of our target countries and are in discussions with various parties, including civil aviation authorities, to get these new routes up and running as soon as possible. Once all permissions and logistical considerations have been resolved, FlySafair will be able to offer daily flights from Johannesburg to Windhoek and Harare from Johannesburg and Cape Town International, respectively," explained Chief Marketing Officer Kirby Gordon. On the Zanzibar segment, he said: "Translating this existing chartered operation into a scheduled operation should be a fairly quick process allowing us to release schedules as early as Q2".
FlySafair was also awarded five additional frequencies on its recently launched Mauritius route, meaning it could up its frequencies to daily.
Gordon said FlySafair had experienced rapid growth over the past ten months. It has added a number of new aircraft to its fleet and hired new accompanying staff. The airline is poised to add three more aircraft to its schedule before the end of March 2023, which will ultimately be used to operate the new routes.
As reported, FlySafair is increasing its fleet from twenty-six to thirty-one B737-800s by the end of April 2023.
