In what must be one of their most significant expansion partnerships with Sri Lanka’s biggest independent airline, Aero Africa has added at least 150 associate airlines through the deal with Colombo-based FitsAir Cargo.What’s more, said the neutral air service’s director, Jade da Costa, the general sales agent agreement with FitsAir now affords Aero Africa’s clients access to some hard-to-reach destinations such as Canada’s far-f lung corners and the archipelago of Fiji.Why is it news that local shippers can now reach the Pacific Island group?“Because, believe it or not, there is some cargo coming out of South Africa that goes to Fiji.”Although loath to share the list of interline options, Da Costa said it included big-name airlines such as Etihad and Emirates, and some much lesser-known services such as Icelandair.“Also, there are some airlines on the list that I have never heard of. Save to say that it has immeasurably extended our reach. “FitsAir f lies cargo via its interline agreements to remote destinations we never thought would be possible. All we have to do is get the cargo to Dubai.”Something as relatively close as Madagascar, Da Costa explained, was a dead-in-the-water cargo destination for exports from South Africa, considering that the national carrier of that country had no aircraft.And let’s rather not say anything about SA A, South Africa’s own beleaguered carrier, which in its heyday had a weekly service to Antananarivo.Apart from Madagascar, working through the Sri Lankan network in the Middle East also extends Aero Africa’s reach to Indian Ocean destinations such as Reunion and Mauritius. “Through FitsAir we now have substantial space allocations to places that previously at worst were impossible, at best very difficult. Now these destinations are dead certs for our clients.”Closer to home, Rwanda’s national airline carrier, RwandAir, is one of the interline associates of FitsAir that Aero Africa will be looking at to further its ambitions of establishing an East African service to countries like Somalia and less-troubled neighbours.New Zealand too, a preferred refuge for South African emigrants looking for safer pastures, has become an easier supply chain destination.“It’s not on everyone’s radar, except for those expats who got out of here following July’s riots yet who still want supplies out of South Africa.”Da Costa said the FitsAir partnership had begun when the latter had approached Aero Africa for a way into Swaziland and surrounding countries via Johannesburg.Little was it known that the help would be returned tenfold.In an official statement following finalisation of the partnership which, in addition to the wealth of interline associations and prime carriers also includes access to road feeder services, Da Costa said: “We are extremely pleased to announce this appointment. This newly struck partnership further strengthens our neutral wholesale and airline brokerage products, and widens our reaching coverage to and from the South East Asia, India sub-continent and beyond.”
