On October 1 Airlink will suspend its Pietermaritzburg-Cape Town route.
“This was not a decision taken lightly, but after almost 17 months, the route has not developed as we expected it would, impacted by the pressures of our economy and the relatively small catchment of the Pietermaritzburg resident market. In order to stem losses, we will suspend services from 1 October 2018,” explained Marketing and Sales Manager, Karin Murray.
From February 6, 2017, the route has provided a direct daily service between the two cities, using 37-seat Embraer ERJ135LR regional jets. The route however has not become profitable, despite the airline’s efforts which included marketing initiatives to promote the connection.
Airlink apologises for any inconvenience caused by the suspension of the service. Customers with confirmed tickets on the route for travel after September 29 will be offered a full refund.
Rodger Foster, CEO and MD of Airlink, told Tourism Update that there had been a curb in the amount of government travel, which provided a significant amount of business on the route. He said that Airlink would reinstate the route if there was an upturn in the economy, and it became economically viable to do so.
