11/02/12, 21:42:07 EST

  e-mail this article

South Africa: Australian Airline to Extend Co-op With SAA

allafrica.com

Australian airline Qantas Airways Ltd has applied to extend its code-sharing agreement with South Africa Airways on flights from Australia to the African nation.

Qantas, which has had code-sharring arrangements with SAA since 2000, is seeking authorisation for a three-year agreement from Australia's International Air Services Commission (IASC).

In its letter to the IASC, Qantas said it hopes to expand its operations on the South African route, including a daily service from Sydney to Johannesburg, by 2009.

It will be a 40 percent increase in capacity on the route, which currently sees five flights a week.

The number of flights is dictated by the Australia-South Africa air service arrangements, which limit both sides to five flights a week.

Pending an extension of the code sharing, Qantas said, it is also seeking a larger allocation of seats once SAA's planned upgrade of its air fleet takes place in mid-2008.

Economic relations with Australia are excellent, with Australia being South Africa's third largest partner in the Asia-Pacific region, after Japan and China.

In turn, South Africa is Australia's biggest trading partner on the African continent. 50 percent of Australian exports to Africa are earmarked for South Africa.

Access to the Australian market is simplified since the regulatory institutions are on a par with those in South Africa, namely similar legal and accounting systems, similar banking and business culture, areas of historical commonality, excellent sporting ties with English the official language.

Similarities in sectors such as the wine industry, mining technology and equipment and automotive components, to name but a few give, rise to numerous joint venture/bilateral trade opportunities.

South Africa is Australia's 19th largest trading partner and is by far Australia's largest and most dynamic market in Africa.

In 2004, two-way merchandise trade was valued at approximately $A2,8 billion. Australian exports to South Africa were mainly coal, crude petroleum and nickel and South African exports to Australia were notably passenger motor vehicles (mostly BMW 3 Series vehicles) worth $A554 million as well as furniture, pig iron, paper and textile products.

Two-way investment flows between Australia and South Africa has expanded since the collapse of apartheid.

South Africa dominates stocks of African investment into Australia (currently the 17th largest foreign investor up from 23rd in 1993 - 1994).

Australian investment in South Africa has also increased mainly in mining, mining equipment, agriculture, agribusiness and infrastructure and services and trade and dominates Australian investment into Africa.

Australia is a big investor in South Africa and the merger in the 1990s Australian BHP Billiton and South African Gencor, created the largest mining company in the world.

However, South African investment in Australia still exceeds Australian investment in South Africa by about two to one.

Australia is continuing to support post-apartheid transformation with an increased emphasis on governance (particularly in macro-economic and financial management, legal and judicial systems and broader public sector reform processes), health (particularly HIV and AIDS), education and food security.

 Printable Version  | published Oct 15, 2007