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Two decades after launching its South Africa service, Delta Air Lines says demand has outgrown the current arrangement as it calls for an updated approach to route frequencies.“There’s a bilateral agreement between the two countries, and that sets out [the] frequencies of connectivity,” said David Werner, Delta’s MD for international government affairs. The agreement currently permits 23 weekly flights by all carriers between the two countries.“All those are being used, and it would take an agreement between the two countries to increase the frequency,” said Werner, noting that Delta regularly raises the issue with authorities in Washington and South Africa.David Werner, MD of International Government Affairs, Regulatory and Policy, Delta Air Lines. (Supplied) “Over the past two decades, South Africa has become an increasingly important market for Delta,” he added. The airline has operated on the corridor since 2006, and the route has drawn a diverse mix of travellers, including leisure tourists, business executives, cargo operators and humanitarian workers, with demand proving resilient in all segments.US arrivals to South Africa exceeded 430,000 in 2024, up 5.2% from the previous year, following an even stronger 37.4% jump in 2023. South Africa welcomed 8.92-million international arrivals in 2024 overall, with the Western Cape recording a 5.1% increase in US visitors in 2023.“Against that backdrop, the fact that there are no additional available routes right now between the countries is significant,” Werner said.“Today, the relationship between South Africa and the US is full of potential,” he added. “As demand continues to grow, we believe the time is right to look ahead to the next chapter of that partnership.”Rob LeBel, Delta’s MD of international and specialty sales, said travel demand to South Africa has held firm despite a turbulent geopolitical backdrop. This is because of its diverse range of traveller segments.“It’s rare that we have an international market like this one,” LeBel said. “There’s so many different channels.”Corporate travel spans sectors such as oil and gas, automotive and consumer goods, while the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) segment has gained further momentum since the pandemic, according to LeBel.It’s rare that we have an international market like this one. There’s so many different channels.— Rob LeBel, Delta MDThe visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market, in both directions, provides a reliable base of repeat travellers year-round, he added.Leisure remains the dominant volume driver, LeBel said, with US tour operator traffic in safari trips, wine tours, food tourism and heritage tours continuing to grow.A retiring baby boomer generation, carrying historically high levels of accumulated wealth, is driving much of that demand, with long-haul international travel to South Africa in particular ranking high on its list.LeBel noted, however, that fluctuations in the value of the rand over the past 20 years have widened the currency gap considerably since Delta first entered the market. The weakening rand means South African travellers are often competing at a disadvantage against higher-paying US dollar buyers for the same seats.“That makes it challenging for our local sales team,” said LeBel. “From an inventory management perspective, we allocate seat inventory more to US point-of-sale traffic coming out of Atlanta, New York or LA versus point-of-sale traffic coming out of South Africa.“When our revenue management teams do that cost-benefit analysis on whether to sell a seat to a US customer paying in dollars versus a South African customer paying in rand, a lot of times the winner ends up being the US consumer,” he added.In practice, that means fewer seats are made available to South African buyers at lower price points, even when flights are not yet full.Beyond South Africa, Delta operates in six destinations on the continent, with Johannesburg increasingly functioning as a sub-Saharan hub from which travellers connect onwards to Cape Town and safari destinations.The airline works with partners such as Kenya Airways, Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic to extend its African reach.Business Times
