South African Airways (SAA) and Africa World Airlines have signed a partnership deal to offer Nigerian travellers one-flight ticket to connect Washington DC, USA, via Accra, Ghana.
Speaking on the deal, Ohis Ehimiaghe, the SAA Regional Manager, North, West and Central Africa said;
“The South African Airways and Africa World Airlines partnership is the shortest gateway to travel to Washington, providing about 11-hour trip from West Africa to Washington.
And with the core values of reliability and exceptional service, both airlines are set to give passengers wonderful flying experience.”
According to a Punch report, there had been discussion regarding full codeshare agreement between both airlines. The interline agreement would result in a formidable relationship according to South African Airways’ National Sales Manager for Nigeria, Kemi Leke-Bamtefa.
While for Africa World Airlines Country Manager, Nigeria, Kingsley Chima, the interline agreement between the two companies is a;
“win-win development for both airlines, and most importantly, for the passengers who now have a seamless connection from West Africa to Washington, USA.”
The Deal
The deal is an interline e-ticket agreement that will enable Nigerians to fly to Washington from either Lagos or Abuja in Nigeria. The deal is a strategic move for Africa World Airlines who provide four weekly South African Airways-Accra-Washington flights and 37 frequencies weekly flights from Lagos and Abuja to Accra.
The agreement permits South African Airways to issue a direct ticket from either Lagos or Abuja to Washington via Accra.
Interline Agreement
Interline agreements are the most basic kinds of agreements you can have between airlines. An interline agreement is simply a commercial agreement between airlines to handle passengers when they’re travelling on multiple airlines on the same itinerary. This allows passengers to check their bags through to their final destination, check-in all the way to their destination, potentially be rebooked on another airline in the event of irregular operations, etc.
Code Share
Code-share agreements focus on scheduling and aircraft sharing. A code-share customer may purchase a ticket on one airline but travel on another airline if the two have agreed to the relationship. Customers seeking travel on airlines with code-share agreements have a greater selection of flights since the ticket can be used on either carrier interchangeably, subject to fare rules and inventory availability. Since tickets are interchangeable, airlines with codeshare agreements also have an interline agreement. Codeshare agreements also usually provide frequent-flight bonus program mileage accrual to the customer’s program of choice.
