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Australians have bought 43 000 match tickets and direct flights to South Africa from Sydney and Melbourne are heavily booked, according to national carrier Qantas and Virgin Australia. The Australian national team is due to play against Germany, Ghana and Serbia in the first round of the FIFA World Cup. Isobel Hancock, the local general manager of Virgin Australia, said its three outbound flights a week from Johannesburg to Melbourne during the World Cup were carrying average passenger loads of 80 percent.
These included soccer fans from New Zealand arriving in Melbourne on connecting flights. She said Virgin Australia’s outbound flights from this country were also well supported by South Africans. But Michie Messner, Qantas general manager in South Africa, said that although its six incoming flights a week from Sydney had good passenger loads and those immediately before the start of the World Cup and in time for the first two games were full, passenger numbers on the outbound flights were "disappointing" at present, reflected in the low fares available.
Travel agents pointed out that Qantas had more flights to fill than Virgin. It was also hit by increased competition from indirect flights by Middle Eastern airlines and by Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airlines. SAA also offers daily direct flights between Johannesburg and Perth. SAA and Qantas carry each other’s passengers under code share arrangements. Qantas will increase its direct flights to Johannesburg to a daily service in September.
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