Flights to South Africa face cut

Press, 21 March 1983, Page 1

Flights to South Africa face cut

By

LES BLOXHAM

travel editor

Hundreds of New Zealanders booked to visit South Africa will have their travel plans disrupted if Qantas exercises its right to force South African Airways to cancel its Tuesday service between Sydney and Johannesburg. Next Tuesday’s flight could be the last mid-week service for S.A.A., but the airline is hanging on to a slender thread of hope that the Australian Labour Government might not force the cut-back.

S.A.A. has been flying twice a week between Sydney and Johannesburg since Qantas pulled off the route six years ago.

Prohibited by the Fraser Government from renewing its former link with South Africa, Qantas ultimately opted to open a new route between Sydney and Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, last December. The airline’s chairman, Mr Jim Leslie, told “The Press” in October that Qantas would have preferred to fly to Johannesburg, but had

been prevented from doing so by the Fraser Cabinet. Instead it had ho option but to fly to Zimbabwe, S.A.A. providing special connecting services between Harare and Johannesburg. A Qantas spokesman in Sydney confirmed last week that support for tjie new service had been “disappointingly small.” S.A.A.’s flights, however, have been fully booked and travel agents report that it is virtually impossible to get bookings during the next three months. Some of. Qantas’s 747 s on the other , hand have had fewer than 50 of their 400 seats filled.

Travel industry sources in Sydney believe that by forcing S.A.A. to cut back to one flight a week, Qantas stands to gain greater support for its ailing Harare link. S.A.A. is preparing , to fight any attempt to reduce its frequency, and is receiving strong support from an Australian trade association whose members exported $146 million worth of goods to South Africa last year.

S.A.A. has warned that if it has to reduce its services, it will end a number of

associations with Qantas, costing it millions of dollars a year. It would terminate a general sales agent agreement and withdraw from aircraft ground-handling and catering agreements. The regional manager of S.A.A., Mr Kobie van Rooyen, said that it would have to reconsider the connecting services it provides for Qantas passengers travelling between Harare and Johannesburg. He said that because of the Qantas action, tours booked by 1400 Australians and New Zealanders were in jeopardy and one travel agent alone faced the prospect of paying $45,000 in cancellation fees. The agents could also face action under Australia’s trade practices legislation for failing to provide the booked tours. Hundreds of travellers were likely to be stranded Mr van Rooyen said Canberra’s refusal to let Qantas fly to Johannesburg was “ludicrous” when carriers from eight black African nations flew there, including seven Commonwealth members.