Airlink, Lufthansa, SWISS ink interline deal for travel connections in Southern Africa

In a bid to offer travelers with access to over 25 destinations in South Africa including Bloemfontein, George, Upington, Skukuva, Nelspruit, Hoedspruit and Port Elizabeth, one of Europe’s mega carriers, Lufthansa and SWISS are partnering with Airlink, one of Africa’s fastest growing airlines for air links.

The partnership would cover over 20 other regional destinations in Southern Africa, such as Gaborone, Kasane, Vilanculos, Maun, Victoria Falls, Maputo, Windhoek, Harare, Lusaka, Ndola, Bulawayo and many more.

The interline agreement which came into effect in January 2021, allows customers the convenience of purchasing a single ticket to or from a multitude of destinations in Southern Africa, via Airlink’s gateways in Johannesburg and Cape Town, therefore offering a truly seamless travel experience across both airlines.

“The Lufthansa Group is pleased to offer our customers even more travel options and convenience through our partnership with Airlink. We value Airlink as an important and reliable partner in the restart of our South African operations, and look forward to exploring further opportunities to widen the scope of our joint collaboration.  This partnership represents another milestone in further enhancing ournetwork, and expressing the Lufthansa Group’s commitment to South Africa,” says Dr. André Schulz, General Manager Sales Southern and East Africa, Lufthansa Group.

Airlink CEO, Mr. Rodger Foster added: “We are proud and excited about our commercial interline agreement with Lufthansa and SWISS. We have a deep respect for these airlines, their values and global reach. We are confident that the partnership will provide our respective customers with a wider choice of travel options through the convenient inter-connectivity of our respective flights at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport.

The Lufthansa & SWISS agreement with Airlink applies to tickets sold through LH.com, swiss.comandflyairlink.com – as well as through local travel agencies.

The Lufthansa Group is an aviation company with operations worldwide. It plays a leading role in its European home market.

The Lufthansa Group is divided into the business segments Network Airlines, Eurowings and Aviation Services. All business segments are leading providers in their respective industries.

With their premium brands Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines, the network airlines serve the Group’s domestic markets at its hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna. From the 2020 business year onwards, Brussels Airlines will also be reported as part of this business segment.

Eurowings’ long-haul business has also been transferred commercially to the network airlines organization. In future, Eurowings will focus on short-haul point-to-point traffic and is one of Europe’s leading providers in this segment. The Aviation Services business segment includes in particular logistics, engineering and catering.

On the other hand, Airlink is a privately-owned regional airline serving a comprehensive network of smaller destinations throughout Southern Africa. It is now operating independently under its own unique 4Z flight code offering more freedom, more choices and more travel opportunities.

Airlink has more than 50 commercial jetliners operating throughout Southern Africa. Last year we carried 2 million customers on more than 63 000 flights, on 55 routes to 39 destinations in nine African countries and St Helena Island.

Wole Shadare