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Building on almost three decades of strong and successful partnership, Emirates and South African Airways are further enhancing their relationship, working towards a reciprocal codeshare agreement, ahead of the busy peak travel season.
With single ticket fare and hassle-free baggage handling, Emirates customers will be able to enjoy seamless access from Johannesburg to three domestic points in South Africa – Cape Town, Durban and Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), and a further thirteen regional points in Africa including Abidjan, Accra, Botswana, Dar es Salaam, Kinshasa, Windhoek, Lagos, Lusaka, Lubumbashi, Harare, Victoria Falls, Windhoek, and Mauritius. The codeshare will enable Emirates to tap into feeder traffic from South Africa, and regionally alongside long-haul connecting passengers from the UK and US.
This builds on the existing codeshare partnership, that provides South African Airways customers with access to Dubai on Emirates’ soon-to-be 56 weekly flights from three gateways, as well as a further 68 global destinations available on an interline basis. Since January, 45,000 passengers have taken advantage of this partnership.
The agreement was signed at the 2025 Dubai Airshow, by Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer and Professor M. John Lamola, Group Chief Executive Officer of South African Airways. Beyond the reciprocal codeshare, the MoU also outlines scope to explore further collaboration across loyalty programmes and cargo operations, as well as closer cooperation to explore synergies between their shared network and schedules.
Commenting on the signing, Adnan Kazim said, “The partnership Emirates inked with South African Airways was one of the first on our portfolio. Since signing in 1997, our collaboration has created reliable connectivity for passengers to explore more of the globe with simplified, seamless travel. South Africa remains a cornerstone of our African network, and one of the most consistently busy routes we serve, and partnerships like this are essential for us to serve our customers travelling in and out of the market. We will continue to collaborate with South African Airways to unlock benefits for our mutual customers.”
“This enhanced codeshare agreement marks a significant milestone in our 28-year partnership with Emirates. It reflects South African Airways’ commitment to delivering seamless connectivity for our customers and strengthening South Africa’s position as a key aviation hub. By expanding our collaboration, we are unlocking greater travel and trade opportunities across Africa and globally, ensuring that our passengers benefit from world-class service and convenience.”
Scaling Emirates’ operations from Cape Town
Building on a year of unwaveringly high demand, Emirates has announced a third daily flight on the Dubai-Cape Town route, from 1st July 2026. Operated with a Boeing 777, the new service boosts seat capacity by a further 600+ seats in and out of South Africa’s most visited city every day.
In the last year, Emirates’ double daily schedule to Cape Town has been operating at a very high seat factor, especially during peak periods. Inbound traffic from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the UAE, is on the rise, while outbound traffic remains strong to Europe and the East Coast of the US.
EK778 will depart Dubai at 10:25 hrs, arriving at Cape Town International Airport at 18:05 hrs; the return flight, EK779, will depart Cape Town at 20:00 hrs and arrive in Dubai at 07:25 hrs the following morning. The evening departure adds an overnight travel option and is strategically timed for optimal connectivity with key long-haul destinations popular with South African travellers such as Thailand, Indonesia, France, Switzerland, and key points in East Asia such as the Philippines and China to name just a few. Beyond leisure travel, the new frequency creates new opportunities for corporate travellers to reach key markets in Asia, creating mutually beneficial business opportunities.
2025 marks Emirates’ 30th year of operations to South Africa, since its inaugural flight to Johannesburg in 1995. Throughout the year, the airline has consistently demonstrated its steadfast commitment to the market through significant investment in operations that focused on enhancing the traveller experience. Emirates ramped up flights to and from Johannesburg, with a fourth daily flight that added a morning departure, to create new opportunities to travel.
Emirates also deployed its first retrofitted Boeing 777 in Africa to South Africa, bringing its latest signature product and experience to Cape Town and Johannesburg. Elevating the passenger experience with the latest signature interiors and upgraded cabins, the retrofitted Boeing 777 introduced Premium Economy, the highly lauded cabin that’s been likened to business class on many other airlines.
To take advantage of Emirates and South African Airways codeshare or interline partnerships, or book seats on the third daily Dubai-Cape Town service tickets can be booked on emirates.com, flysaa.com or via travel agents.
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