South African Airways today announces significant price cuts following global reductions in jet fuel prices.
[Box]Flights between Johannesburg and a number of African destinations will experience
– average reductions of USD 15 per segment (approximately R 249 per round trip),
– while total long haul return ticket costs will be cut by USD 7 per segment (approximately R 116 per round trip)
– and domestic return flights by USD 5 per segment (approximately R 83 per round trip).
The African destinations benefitting from the steepest cuts include Cameroon?s commercial capital Douala, the capitals of Gabon, Burundi, and Rwanda, Libreville, Bujumbura, and Kigali, as well as the commercial capital of Benin, Cotonou, and the Congolese oil hub of Pointe Noire.[/box]
[quote]?We are able to offer the deepest cuts on these African routes because the price of jet fuel in these cities is generally higher than the international average,? said SAA CEO Siza Mzimela. ?As a result, although fuel prices remain higher than elsewhere internationally, when oil prices drop, the reduction results in a larger actual saving to our passengers?.[/quote]
The decreases more than compensate for the European Union carbon emissions tax of between 1.00 and 2.00 Euros (between roughly R 10.34 and R 20.68) SAA will implement under protest next month.
The carbon emissions tax is opposed by airlines and governments around the world because it has been unilaterally imposed by the EU despite proposals by the International Air Transport Association for a fair and equitable approach to be agreed under the auspices of the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation.
SAA passengers have already started benefitting from the fuel levy reductions made possible by the global fall in oil prices as the new, lower fuel levy was implemented last week
?As the leading airline to, from and within Africa, we are delighted to be able to pass on to our passengers the current savings we are able to make as a result of falling global oil prices,? said Mzimela. ?Within the overall context of our growth and optimisation strategy for SAA, we will continue to manage our fuel and other costs to the maximum benefit of our passengers and the economy.?