British Airways Comair to fly to East London from March

Travellers to East London will have more choice when British Airways, operated by Comair, starts operating scheduled flights to the city.

The airline announced it is expanding its local route network and will start flying to East London in March.

LIGHT AT END OF THE TUNNEL FOR COMAIR

Comair, which operates British Airways and Kulula, was placed under business rescue in 2020. Both airlines were grounded for more than six months in 2020, and Comair faced an uncertain future for several months under business rescue.

The airline was saved when an investor, Comair Rescue Consortium, was found and injected R500m into the company. After securing the investor, the airline announced it would resume flights in December 2020.

Kulula took to the skies on 1 December and British Airways (Comair) resumed flights on 8 December.

COMAIR TO OPERATE DOMESTIC FLIGHTS FOR NOW

Both airlines operated by Comair currently operate domestic flights only. The Kulula brand does not fly outside of South Africa’s borders and the British Airways franchise will reintroduce flights on its regional network in the coming months as it ramps up operations.

EAST LONDON ROUTES ANNOUNCED

British Airways will fly to East London from Johannesburg and Cape Town. From 17 March, British Airways will operate 13 weekly flights between Johannesburg and East London and seven flights per week from Cape Town through Comair.  

“As we expand our schedule and offer more choice, we are pleased to now offer the full-service British Airways experience on these new routes,” Desmond O’Connor, executive head of revenue management at British Airways (operated by Comair) said, as quoted by DispatchLive.

“Furthermore, East London will also be displayed as a destination, as part of British Airways’ global distribution network.”

COMAIR FLIGHTS TO BOOST EAST LONDON TOURISM

The airline aims to promote local tourism by offering affordable fares and holiday packages to East London. Fares to East London will from R595 one way, including taxes and surcharges. This is a good deal considering baggage and meals are included in the price.

“We will be offering holiday packages through our tour operating divisions, which we hope will help to rejuvenate domestic tourism to the region,” O’Connor said.