SAA and Air Seychelles Announce New Code Share Flights

South African Airways (SAA), the national carrier of South Africa and Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, announced today a new codeshare agreement for customers traveling between New York and the Seychelles.

Air Seychelles will add its “HM” code on SAA’s nonstop flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and Johannesburg, South Africa and connecting flights between Johannesburg and Mahe, Seychelles operated by Air Seychelles will display the “SA” code. The codeshare flights will be open for sale on October 15, 2019, and the effective date of travel is from November 1, 2019.

The new codeshare partnership with Air Seychelles will provide convenient connections and a seamless travel experience for travelers during their entire journey. Customers on both carriers will be able to book flights operated by the other and enjoy the added convenience of travel on one single electronic ticket and through interline baggage transfer upon check-in with each airline in the U.S. or the Seychelles.

Air Seychelles offers more than 350 domestic scheduled flights a week throughout the archipelago, including domestic charter services. As the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, Air Seychelles is a pillar of tourism, the island nation’s strongest and growing economic sector.

Charles Johnson, Chief Commercial Officer at Air Seychelles said: “Adding New York-JFK to the Air Seychelles network will provide more accessibility to travelers from the U.S. to the Seychelles and build additional visibility in the North America market about the Seychelles through the joint marketing efforts and awareness that this new codeshare partnership will bring. For over five years now we have partnered with South African Airways, and thank them for their continuous support in enabling Air Seychelles to expand its network reach and we look forward to maintaining the successful partnership.”

“Visitor arrivals from North America to the Seychelles continue to grow, with a 7% increase to date, compared to the same time last year,” said David Germain, the Seychelles Tourism Board Director for Africa & the Americas. “This new codeshare agreement between SAA & Air Seychelles, will introduce a more convenient way of travel from North America to Seychelles and contribute towards increasing visitor arrivals in the future.”

Tickets can be purchased by visiting South African Airways’ website at www.flysaa.com, calling SAA Reservations at 1-800-722-9675 or contacting a professional travel advisor.

“We are very delighted to announce this new codeshare flight with Air Seychelles as this further enhances our strategy of providing our customers with improved travel options to Africa and the neighboring Indian Ocean islands,” said Todd Neuman, executive vice president-North America for South African Airways. “The Seychelles are absolutely beautiful with amazing beaches, coral reefs and nature reserves. It’s an immensely popular destination and we are pleased to now offer the convenience of daily flights to this destination in cooperation with Air Seychelles.”

Celebrity Constellation Is A 'Revolutionized' Ship

A revolutionary ship is coming to Port Tampa Bay, as Celebrity Cruises unveils a brand new homeport, expanding the brand’s global vacation offerings with the redeployment of Celebrity Constellation. The newly “revolutionized” ship will offer guests more island time than ever before, with three unique alternating 10-and 11-night roundtrip sailings for the winter 2020 season.

“Our guests and travel advisors have been asking us to return to Tampa since our last call there in 2007,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises. “While ‘Celebrity Cruises’ fleet is undergoing a massive modernization with THE CELEBRITY REVOLUTION, the beautiful City of Tampa is also experiencing quite a renaissance. How fitting for our evolving brand to return to an evolving city with a completely ‘revolutionized’ ship?’”

Recent construction and development in Tampa Bay aim to create a truly dynamic, urban lifestyle for workers, residents and visitors alike. The city’s downtown waterfront is currently being transformed through the $3 billion Water Street project. The 50-acre district will feature retail, offices, homes, hotels, culture, and education. Transformation of Tampa’s urban core was enhanced by the completion of the Tampa Riverwalk, an area now seeing hundreds of millions of dollars in private investments. In addition, historic Ybor’s City’s revitalization further adds to Tampa’s uniqueness as a robust and desirable world-class destination.

“We are very excited to welcome Celebrity Cruises to the Tampa Bay market. In 2020 Celebrity Cruises will offer a variety of itineraries from Tampa that will include stops at exotic locations in southern and eastern Caribbean. The addition of this premium brand to the explosive growth that Tampa Bay is experiencing will add an extraordinary adventure to the many choices vacationers have in Tampa Bay,” said Port Tampa Bay President and CEO Paul Anderson.

Following a leisurely 14-night Transatlantic crossing out of Barcelona, Celebrity Constellation will begin offering guests three unique itineraries, including a 10-night Eastern Caribbean escape, calling San Juan, Puerto Rico; Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; and Samana, Dominican Republic; an 11-night Southern Caribbean trek with visits to Key West, Florida; Kralendijk, Bonaire; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao; and George Town, Grand Cayman; as well as a brand new 11-night “Touch Canal” itinerary, sailing to Cozumel, Mexico; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; the Panama Canal; Colon, Panama; Cartagena, Colombia; and George Town, Grand Cayman.

Celebrity Constellation is currently scheduled to undergo its “revolutionary” modernization in May 2020 as part of THE CELEBRITY REVOLUTION, Celebrity’s $500 million investment in ship-wide upgrades and breathtaking reimagined spaces, taking the brand’s fleet to the Edge.

For more details on Celebrity Constellation’s redeployment and the exciting new sailings being offered, visit www.celebritycruises.com/ports/tampa. To learn more about the unique offerings exclusive to the Tampa Bay region and the surrounding area, visit www.visittampabay.com or visitwww.visitstpeteclearwater.com.

South African Airways Appoints Fitzpatrick As The New Director of Sales Development For Mid-Atlantic Region

South African Airways (SAA), the national flag carrier of South Africa announces the appointment of Frank Fitzpatrick as Director, Sales Development for the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States, effective August 05, 2019. Frank will be based in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area and will report to Marlene Sanau, Vice President, Sales – North America. As Director of Sales Development, Frank will be responsible for the airline’s business development and passenger sales that are generated through national and regional travel management companies, retail travel agency, travel consortiums, corporate, tour operator and consolidator accounts in the MidAtlantic region. His sales region of responsibility will include The District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

“Frank is a seasoned sales professional whose experience in developing business strategies to generate both leisure and corporate sales will add great value to increasing South African Airways’ position in our gateway city of Washington, DC, as well as throughout the Mid-Atlantic region,” said Marlene Sanau, vice president of sales for South African Airways in North America. “He brings a wealth of experience and leadership in the airline industry to SAA and we are excited to welcome him to our sales organization in North America.”

Prior to joining SAA, Frank was a top sales performer at United Airlines having served in sales management positions on the West Coast where he was responsible for strategic business development and sales planning. He is a graduate of Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication and has a Certificate in Marketing from the University of California.

South African Airways is one of Africa’s most awarded airlines, honored with a 4-star rating for 17 consecutive years by Skytrax. South African Airways offers the most daily flights from the U.S. to South Africa with nonstop service from New York-JFK Airport and direct service from Washington, DC-Dulles Airport to Johannesburg via Accra, Ghana or Dakar, Senegal. Onboard, SAA offers an in-flight experience designed for pure comfort for the long-haul. Customers enjoy a spacious Economy Class cabin, gourmet cuisine and a selection of complimentary spirits and award-winning South African wines and generous checked baggage allowance. Also included are individual audio / visual entertainment systems that deliver an extensive menu of first-run movies, music choices, and games. Via our Johannesburg hub, SAA links the world to over 75 destinations across the African continent and Africa’s Indian Ocean islands.

For more information on South African Airways, please call (800) 722-9675 or visit www.flysaa.com.

South African Airways Gets "Corporate Leadership Award'

South African Airways (SAA), Africa’s most awarded airline, was honored with the “Corporate Leadership” award at the 25th Shared Interest Anniversary Gala held in New York City on April 25. Shared Interest is a non-profit social investment fund that mobilizes the resources for Southern Africa’s economically disenfranchised communities to sustain themselves and build equitable nations.

The airline was recognized for its commitment to upholding its corporate social responsibility and playing a transformative and developmental role in the development of South Africa. For more than 85 years, SAA has served as South Africa’s national airline. Since 1994, the first year of democratically held elections in South Africa, SAA has deepened its mission, orientation and business practices to support South Africa’s national developmental agenda and to connect South Africa to the world. Shared Interest was established twenty-five years ago by founding partners who were deeply entrenched in the anti-apartheid movement with a passion for human rights and economic justice.

Since then, the organization, working with the Thembani International Guarantee fund in South Africa, has facilitated guarantees that move South Africa’s own banks to provide entrepreneurs, farmers, and homeowners with access to the country’s own abundant capital in order to create sustainable solutions to poverty. Shared Interest’s guarantees play a role not only in correcting market failure but also in helping to dismantle apartheid era discriminatory lending practices. Since Shared Interest began, its loan guarantees and technical support have benefited more than two million Southern Africans, the majority of who are women. In the process, they have forged a model applicable and replicable far beyond South Africa. Responding to Southern Africa’s needs, Shared Interest has expanded to Mozambique, Swaziland and begun operations in Malawi.

“This award is a testament to the commitment, support, and collaboration between SAA and Shared Interest,” said Todd Neuman, SAA’s executive vice president for North America. “As South Africa’s flag carrier, we take our mission seriously to aid in the development of South Africa. Working with an organization such as Shared Interest, which has done phenomenal work in South Africa’s transformation, is an integral part of our mission here in the United States. We are immensely proud to be the recipient of this distinguished award from Shared Interest, and it will aid us as we continue to champion worthy philanthropic efforts that make for better lives for South Africa’s people.”

“Shared Interest is a proud long-term partner with South African Airways in continuing to build on the vibrant relationship between the people of South Africa and the United States,” affirmed Donna Katzin, Shared Interest’s executive director. “We look forward to our ongoing work together to open doors for excluded South Africans and to build a more equitable society with today’s and tomorrow’s South Africans.”

South African Airways Offers Special Travel Industry Fares For 2019 Tourism Shows in South Africa

South African Airways (SAA), the national flag carrier of South Africa is offering special travel trade fares in both Premium Business and Economy Class to our travel partners and industry colleagues that are planning to attend the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) April 7-9, the World Travel Market Africa (WTM) April 10-12, We Are Africa May 13 -16 all held in Cape Town and Africa’s premier travel show, Indaba, hosted by South African Tourism, May 7-9 in Durban.

These special fares start from $520.00* (restrictions apply) for Economy Class and $4620.00* (restrictions apply) for Business Class travel round-trip from New York-JFK Airport or Washington, DCDulles Airport to Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban. Special low add-on fares are also available to select destinations on SAA’s extensive route network throughout Southern and Eastern Africa to give delegates an opportunity to travel around the region to explore and experience the beauty, culture, and wildlife of Africa on pre and post-conference tours.

We invite our valued travel partners to attend one or more of these events to learn more about the exciting destinations and developments in Africa’s tourism industry.

“We feel that the best way to sell Africa is to experience the destination first hand. As the largest airline in Southern Africa, we play an important role in the development of tourism in the region,” said Marlene Sanau, vice president, sales - North America for South African Airways. Therefore, as part of that mission, it is important that we offer these special fares to our travel partners and industry colleagues to provide an affordable way to travel to these conferences to learn more about selling Africa and the new business opportunities for further developing tourism to the continent.”

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS OFFERS SPECIAL TRAVEL INDUSTRY FARES FOR 2019 TOURISM SHOWS IN SOUTH AFRICA PAGE 2 These special fares will allow our travel industry partners to experience the rich culture and heritage, warm hospitality and all the natural wonders of the continent and use this knowledge to sell an African vacation of a lifetime to their clients.

For reservations and complete details on these exclusive tourism conference fares, attending delegates should download the application form by visiting http://bit.ly/SAA2019INDABAFares and call SAA Reservations at 1-866-359-7227.

About South African Airways South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most awarded airline serves over 75 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its low-cost carrier Mango. In North America, SAA operates daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Accra, Ghana, and Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg.

SAA has partnerships with United Airlines, Air Canada, JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and American Airlines, which offer convenient connections from more than 100 cities in the U.S. and Canada to SAA’s flights. SAA is a Star Alliance member and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-Star rating for 16 consecutive years.