SA Airlink, in joint venture with SAA, made history on August 16 when it launched its inaugural flight between Pretoria and Cape Town.
The new route, which flies between Wonderboom National Airport and Cape Town International, will provide travellers from Pretoria through to areas such as Limpopo and even the North West with a closer and arguably more convenient access point than OR Tambo.
Airlink CEO, Rodger Foster reveals that initially take-up on the route was slow, which he attributes to the trade’s tendency to support what they know. “However, closer to the launch, the take-up has seen a far more positive, almost exponential, increase.”
“We will have to see how things develop,” says Foster, noting that Airlink’s primary objective is to first make sure the Pretoria-Cape Town route is working. However, he says the airline does recognise the potential of including more destinations like Durban, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth.
The city’s aspiration is to expand Wonderboom’s network. “We are bullish about the prospects of this initiative,” says The Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Kgosientso Ramokgopa.
The re-establishment of flights from Wonderboom is expected to catalyse a series of other developments in the area. “An entire new aerotropolis will develop here,” says Gauteng Premier, David Makhura. He adds that soon a bus service will connect Hatfield Station to the airport. “Ultimately, we should be connecting all our airports with the Gautrain but it may be too early to say that.”
The current schedule:
Flights between Pretoria and Cape Town will operate initially twice daily but this will increase to three times daily. The airline will offer both business- and economy-class services.
