South African Tourism (SAT) and United Airlines held a joint webinar on Thursday to announce the inauguration of daily nonstop flights from Newark to Johannesburg beginning June 3, and to talk about South Africa’s positioning as a destination while the world recovers mobility, and travelers who have been pent up for a year are released.
The webinar featured presentations by Jerry Mpufane, president of South African Tourism North America, and Irene Bar-Am, sales manager for United Airlines. SAT and United Airlines are joined by a common interest at the cusp of a reawakening of travel as COVID begins to loosen its hold on the world.
“We sing from the same hymn book,” said Mpufane, “in terms of wanting to get the North American traveler to see South Africa as a state that is open, and a ready destination that is waiting with a variety of experiences, affordable luxury and a warm Rainbow Nation welcome when they are ready to travel.”
SAT believes the destination is perfectly poised to receive the kinds of travelers who are now being set free with a feverish desire to make up for lost time during the year of lockdown. SAT came armed with market research to back up its claims.
“Travelers of North America are telling us from a variety of research studies that they are ready to travel now,” said Mpufane. “And who are the travelers that are ready for an experience that South Africa can provide? They are highly social and open minded. Their enthusiasm for life extends to their outlook on travel. They’re experimental and have varied interests. They bask in high-end hedonistic experiences that are shared with others. And our destination lends itself very much to what the traveler wants on their holiday destination.”
After a year of being restricted, the needs of dedicated travelers have shifted, and intensified, according to market studies.
“What we know today,” said Mpufane, “while we are still living in a pandemic, but coming out of a lockdown, as it were, that ‘I need a vacation’ is no longer a plea for rest and relaxation. There is a demand to reawaken. People feel that the lockdown has been exactly what the word says. They have been tied to their lounges, their bedrooms, their home offices. And they are wanting to reawaken their spirits and feel alive again. We believe our destination is right for those people.”
During the lockdown, SAT kept a close eye on market trends. “While there’s been little activity directly with our consumers because of the lockdown,” said Mpufane, “we do try to stay abreast of consumer insights. Some of the things travelers tell us are that as they start traveling again after lockdown they’ll be looking for nature and wellness opportunities, and our destination is geared up to deliver that. We were geared up before the pandemic, but even more now. People are ready for their revenge trip and we are ready to give them exhilarating experiences to free them so they feel reawakened again.”
United Airlines’ Irene Bar-Am told webinar attendees that with the inauguration of the daily nonstops from Newark to Johannesburg, United now offers more flights to South Africa than any other U.S. carrier. “This route is in addition to the existing seasonal three times weekly service that we currently have between New York, New York, and Cape Town,” she said. “And we’ll be offering the only roundtrip nonstop service to Johannesburg by any U.S. carrier.” The United route map offers connections from its South Africa flights to more than 50 U.S. cities.
The new Newark-Johannesburg route will be serviced by Boeing 787-9 airplanes with 48 all aisle-access United Polaris business class seats and 21 United Premium Plus seats. Safety precautions on board have been pushed to a higher level since the pandemic.
“We’ve taken a close look at every stage of the travel experience,” said Bar-Am, “and have introduced meaningful changes and innovations to maintain the highest standards of safety. United has put health and safety at the forefront of every customer’s journey with the goal of delivering an industry-leading standard of cleanliness through the United CleanPlus program.”
The airline has introduced more than a dozen new policies designed for safety. During check-in United requires passengers to acknowledge that they do not have COVID-19 symptoms. All passengers and crew members are required to wear face coverings. Electrostatic spraying is used to cleanse the cabins between flights. Hepa filters that remove 99.97 percent of airborne particles are used to clean the air during boarding procedures and flights.
“We’ve spent the last year pushing ourselves forward into more innovation,” said Bar-Am, “constantly asking ourselves, ‘How can we improve the customer experience?’ When you and your customers are ready to travel next to Johannesburg, we’ll be ready to welcome you back, delivering industry-leading cleanliness, caring connections and the safest possible journey, from lobbies to landing.” For more information, visit www.southafrica.net and www.united.com.
