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Qatar Airways and Airlink Announce Interline Agreement

A Qatar Airways-painted Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on a test flight. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Bailey)

Qatar Airways continues to expand its African outreach, now offering over 60 weekly flights to 15 destinations across the continent.

The Doha-based carrier has signed an interline agreement with Johannesburg based Airlink Ltd, which will further enable Qatar Airways to increase its presence in the South African region.

The agreement will provide passengers connectivity via Cape Town and Johannesburg to more than 20 regional destinations in Southern Africa including; Gaborone and Maun, Botswana; Tete, Mozambique; Port Elizabeth, South Africa; Lusaka, Zambia; Harare and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The agreement also will enable passengers in the region to have services to over 25 domestic flights and more than 20 regional destinations.

“As the most connected airline during the pandemic with a network that never fell below 30 destinations, we strive to continue to offer more flexibility and options for our passengers. We are delighted to sign this interline agreement with Airlink to further expand our network in the region connecting passengers to more than 25 domestic and more than 20 regional destinations. With the borders in South Africa being closed for five months, we are thrilled to re-enter the market with additional connections in South Africa and beyond,” said Qatar Airways Vice President Africa, Hendrik Du Preez.

Airlink is a privately-owned regional airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa that acts as a feeder airline connecting small towns with larger airport hubs.

Airlink CEO, Rodger Foster noted; “We are proud and excited about our new interline commercial agreement with Qatar Airways. We have a deep respect for Qatar Airways, its values and its global reach. We are confident that the relationship will deliver enhanced travel options to customers given the designed interconnectivity that will be enabled at OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport.

Airlink’s offering of connectable destinations includes most key points within Southern Africa such as; Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London, Bloemfontein, Harare, Lusaka, Maputo, Gaborone, Windhoek, amongst many others”.

With the airline’s network never falling below 30 destinations since the onset of the pandemic, the airline’s global network has tripled since the onset of the pandemic by mid-October.

The airline’s resilience and commitment to providing connectivity has also seen it launch several new destinations since the start of the pandemic, including Accra, Ghana; Brisbane, Australia and Cebu, Philippines.

The Doha-based carrier also has a mix of fuel-efficient aircraft and strategic network management that has also enabled it to quickly resume flights and expand services in line with passenger demand.

Victor Shalton

Author

  • Victor Shalton

    Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Victor’s love for aviation goes way back to when he was 11-years-old. Living close to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, he developed a love for planes and he even recalls aspiring to be a future airline executive for Kenya Airways. He also has a passion in the arts and loves writing and had his own aviation blog prior to joining AirlineGeeks. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration at DeKUT and aspiring to make a career in a more aviation-related course.

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