Second US carrier now flying t

Delta Airlines resumes direct SA flights. Image: Pixabay

Second US carrier now flying to SA: Delta restarts Jhb-Atlanta service

Delta Airlines has become the second US airline to operate direct flights between the United States and South Africa when it resumed its Johannesburg-Atlanta flight route on Monday 2 August.

Second US carrier now flying t

Delta Airlines resumes direct SA flights. Image: Pixabay

Delta Airlines, which operated flights between the United States (US) and South Africa for more than 15 years, has returned to South African shores on 2 August. Delta intended to resume its scheduled services to Johannesburg last year and applied for permission to add a stop in Cape Town on the return leg of the flight.   

Delta thus hoped to operate a triangular flight routing to South Africa. The airline would have flown from Atlanta to Johannesburg and then added a tag-on flight to Cape Town before heading back to Atlanta in the US.   

SEVERAL DELAYS FOR DELTA

When Delta first announced its two-city South Africa service, the airline planned to start operating flights on the route in October last year. The service was dealt numerous setbacks due to travel bans and a slump in passenger demand – which saw the start date being delayed to 8 January, 27 March, 5 June, and then to 2 July.

After these delays, Delta Airlines announced that its first flight would operate from Atlanta to Johannesburg on 1 August and from Johannesburg to Atlanta on 2 August 2021.

Delta has proudly served South Africa for more than 15 years, and we’re thrilled to return to a market so highly sought after by tourists. Two-thirds of Americans report making summer travel plans, and with demand growing rapidly alongside US vaccination rates, we’re bringing back more flights and destinations to deliver on their anticipation to get back out in the world and reclaim the joy of travel,” said Amy Martin, Delta’s managing director of network planning.

STILL NO CAPE TOWN STOP

After learning that its request for permission to operate a triangular route with a stop in Cape Town before heading back to Atlanta had been declined, Delta announced that it would be abandoning the intended stop in Cape Town on the homeward flight to Atlanta.                    

This decision was not by choice, but because Delta had not been granted approval to stop in Cape Town, by authorities at SA’s Department of Transport.  

Delta schedules state-of-the-art Airbus

Delta has scheduled its state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900neo for its Johannesburg-Atlanta flights. The service, first launched by Delta on 4 December 2006, will initially operate three times weekly, offering customers a choice of 150 destinations across the United States via Delta’s largest hub.

BOOST FOR SA TOURISM

United Airlines launched direct flights between New York and Johannesburg in June this year.  The inauguration of United’s flights was viewed locally as a positive move since it enables Americans – one of SA’s key tourism source markets to conveniently travel to South Africa again.          

The fact that two US airlines now operate direct flights to South Africa – at a time when many carriers have dropped South Africa from their route networks or will not carry passengers on their flights out of South Africa – is crucial for the recovery of South Africa’s tourism sector.