SAA targets high-value cargo with new Guangzhou route
07 / 05 / 2019
South African Airways (SAA) will launch direct flights between Johannesburg and Guangzhou, China, on September 18, giving customers access to “the heart of China’s export led manufacturing industries”.
SAA will be the only carrier operating a direct service between Johannesburg and Guangzhou, with flight time of approximately 13 hours and 40 minutes, providing the shortest travel time on a nonstop basis between the two points.
In total, the airline will offer three flights per week to the Chinese city, utilising A340-300 capacity.
“Cargo operations will complement the viability of this route considering that high value cargo is sourced from Guangzhou,” SAA said in a statement.
Guangzhou is the largest city in the Guangdong province in South China and the third largest Chinese city after Beijing and Shanghai. It is an important transportation hub and trading port, located on the Pearl River about 120km Northwest of Hong Kong.
“Formal and informal traders source the majority of goods purchased in Sub-Saharan Africa from the province, due to Africa’s poor manufacturing capacity,” the airline added.
