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airlines
E Virgin Atlantic has introduced three new economy ticket
types: Economy Light, Economy Classic and Economy Delight,
in line with customer preferences.
E There will be 36 Economy Delight seats on each service,
with priority check-in and boarding, free seat selection and
34-inch extra legroom seats.
New service will boost connections
VIRGIN Atlantic’s double-daily schedule will cater for demand
and boost connecting business across London, but there is also
untapped opportunity for through business from other parts of
the region.
Liezl Gericke, recently promoted to Head of Middle East &
Africa, said the airline would work directly with TMCs to fill
the extra seats but “Johannesburg to London fills… very quickly. Having an additional flight will give us far more throughfare opportunities. Any other regional opportunities we have
seen, we haven’t been able to take… Think of all of the beyond
points.”
Ms. Gericke explained Johannesburg was consistently one
of the airline’s top-performers. “And that’s on the entire
network… We are not saying it is going to be easy to sell two
aircraft; but we feel very confident.”
Along with the new economy ticket types, Premium Economy
has been rebranded Premium. The cabin features a different
seat, recline and separate meal service.
Volumes out of Johannesburg and Dubai are boosted by
behind traffic but there are several
SADC countries on the airline’s
radar.
“Zimbabwe does well
for us, Zambia, Malawi…
Namibia is an opportunity
market for us. Through
traffic is difficult for
Lagos [as] the airport
is limited and can’t take
transit traffic.”
“The Johannesburg route never runs at
less than 90 percent capacity, and that’s
all cabins. By aviation standards, that is a
little bit unheard of.”
Liezl Gericke
“At the moment, the Johannesburg route never runs at less
than 90 percent capacity; and that’s all cabins. By aviation
standards, that is a little bit unheard of. We simply don’t have
enough seats for our TMC and corporate customers, and that is
both ways, inbound and outbound.”
Virgin’s new economy products and WiFi roll-out, now available fleet-wide, is part of a £300-million investment programme
and product strategy.
“Each market is quite unique. Nigeria is a very, very, very
strong performing market for us but it is a complicated trading
environment… [Problems with] repatriation of funds is rearing
its head in certain markets.”
A return to Cape Town was being assessed on an ongoing
basis, she said.
“Johannesburg is quite opportunistic. It is a market we love
and are deeply passionate about.”
Travel Industry Review | April/May 2018 13