British Airways Comair, will commence with scheduled services from Lanseria International airport to Maputo, Mozambique and to Gaborone, Botswana, on September 1. This is the first time that aircraft operating in the British Airways livery will fly from Lanseria airport.
Comair, in partnership with Solenta Aviation recently introduced a 66-seater ATR 72-212 turboprop aircraft with the focus of servicing smaller domestic and regional destinations. The second turboprop aircraft, a 48 seater ATR 42-500 will be added to the fleet to operate on the new to Maputo and Gaborone routes.
Stuart Cochrane, executive manager for network development and alliances at Comair said, “The new routes from Lanseria are a great option for consumers that live in the north and add enormous value to customers travelling on these routes by allowing them to complete a full day’s work in the countries and return on the same day without having to incur accommodation expenses.”
The new routes will be operated under the British Airways brand with the flight schedule comprising daily return flights to both destinations from Monday to Friday with double daily flights on certain days of the week.
“As part of our broader network development strategy we have been exploring the idea of a regional hub at Lanseria airport as part of our expansion plans into Africa for some time. We are confident that the implementation of this first phase of expansion will be well received by our customers and provide them with an alternative to current regional flights operating from OR Tambo International Airport,” concludes Cochrane.
British Airways will initially be offering eight return flights per week between Lanseria and Maputo and seven return flights per week to and from Gaborone with additional flights to both destinations being added before the end of the 2011.
Bookings for the new Maputo and Gaborone routes are currently open for sale through all the relevant channels.
