SOUTH African Airways says it will stick with its code share arrangement with Qantas, despite its induction last week into the giant Star Alliance.
But the Johannesburg-based carrier says it wants to build its presence in Australia and hopes to eventually resume flying its own aircraft to Sydney.
SAA became the eighth member of Star to fly to Australia and joins United Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways International, Austrian Airlines, Asiana, Air Canada and Air New Zealand.
SAA regional manager Thevan Krishna said the five-year-old code share arrangement would continue to operate.
The airline would make a decision on how to manage the Sydney route when the agreement expired.
“This is what’s happening in the airline industry,” Mr Krishna said. “There’s a hybrid of airlines mixing and matching routes and code shares which meet their economic demands.”
