South African Airways (SAA) and New York’s hometown airline, JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU), have announced an expansion of their interline partnership, with South African Airways now offering code share services on JetBlue flights effective March 3rd.  The code share service will be available with SAA flight numbers on JetBlue flights to 20 cities served by the airline in the U.S., connecting through either New York’s John F. Kennedy International (JFK) or Washington, D.C. (Dulles) airports and SAA’s Johannesburg hub, where passengers can access connections to more than 45 cities throughout South Africa and Southern Africa.  South African Airways code share flights operated by JetBlue must be booked by calling the South African Airways Customer Call Center at 1-800-722-9675, visiting www.flysaa.com, or your travel agent.

The benefits go beyond the obvious synergies the two award-winning airlines share, with free meals or snacks, beverages and entertainment on board flights.  Travelers, whether in Southern Africa or the U.S., can now book their South African Airways flight between 20 cities served by JetBlue in the U.S., with the ability to check bags through for their entire journey. 

“Customer response to the interline service between South African Airways and JetBlue has been overwhelmingly positive on both sides of the Atlantic.  They appreciate the ease with which they can connect between these two award-winning airlines,” said Marc Cavaliere, executive vice president, North America, for South African Airways.  “This code share agreement simply builds on an already popular program, and further enhances the service offering for customers wishing to travel between the U.S. and Southern Africa.”

South African Airways also announced recently that its return service from Johannesburg to New York JFK will now operate non stop beginning May 1st.  The new timing for the flight means more time on the ground for travelers in Southern Africa, less time in the air, an earlier arrival time in New York, and more time to enjoy the Big Apple or to access many more early morning connection opportunities on JetBlue and a number of other airlines.  The combination of SAA’s non-stop return service and JetBlue’s extensive flight network in New York makes an already great travel experience even better and twice as convenient. Travelers in cities such as Boston, Ft. Lauderdale or Orlando can book their morning JetBlue flights to JFK and quickly connect to SAA’s non-stop flight to Johannesburg, and will enjoy return non-stop service that will quickly connect back to these cities.  These are just a few examples of the seamless connection opportunities offered between the two airlines.