Travellers on South African Airways are opting for cheaper seats as financial pressures weigh.<\/p>\n
This is according to the airline’s interim chief financial officer Deon Fredricks who presented to parliament on Wednesday (18 September).<\/p>\n
“We have seen that customer requirements have changed, where previously people internationally would fly first or business class,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The first-class passengers (are now) moving to business class, business class passengers are moving to premium-economy, and as such it is becoming a very price-sensitive environment.”<\/p>\n
He added that the airline will adapt to this new environment by having fewer business class seats and increasing its premium-economy offerings.<\/p>\n
“The market has adapted to such an extent that customers want to select which class they fly, whether they want priority excess, do they want food etc.”<\/p>\n
Citing data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Fredricks said that globally the average price from January – May 2018 reduced by 12% in dollar terms.\u00a0 In comparison passengers increased by just 2%.<\/p>\n
“If you just use simple maths you can see we are 10% behind. As a result, we have seen significant pressure on our revenues which is why we are starting on specific initiatives to address them.”<\/p>\n
Fredricks said that these new initiatives will include:<\/p>\n
Price differences\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n While airline pricing can differ widely based on the time of year, carrier and destination – it is still possible to get an idea of the price differences between business class and economy seats.<\/p>\n The below table shows the price difference for both regional and international flights based on SAA’s website<\/a><\/strong>. All flight costs were taken from the week of 21 – 28 September.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n From<\/th>\n To<\/th>\n Business<\/th>\n Economy<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n OR Tambo (Johannesburg)<\/td>\n Heathrow (London)<\/td>\n R52 054<\/td>\n R14 821<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n OR Tambo (Johannesburg)<\/td>\n JFK (New York)<\/td>\n R88 661<\/td>\n R15 246<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cape Town International (Cape Town)<\/td>\n OR Tambo (Johannesburg)<\/td>\n R 5 120<\/td>\n R3 326<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n King Shaka International (Durban)<\/td>\n OR Tambo (Johannesburg)<\/td>\n R3 303<\/td>\n R1 290<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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