Sajid Khan,

South Africa has a lot to offer as a MICE destination – from luxury hotels with world-class facilities to a vibrant culture and exotic wildlife. The country is also known for its award-winning wine estates and golf courses, which entice the more evolved business segment. All these factors put together have made South Africa desirable for corporate travellers. With South Africa gaining popularity as a MICE destination for India, its airline – South African Airways (SAA) – too has earned prominence among corporates and business travellers, and for good reason too. SAA is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 56 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, SA Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is also a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance.

Country Manager (India), South African Airways, says that as the national carrier of South Africa, SAA ensures that MICE travellers are offered special fares and have a comfortable and luxurious experience on-board. “Our recent codeshare with Etihad Airways has made it more convenient for MICE travellers, as they have an option to choose from 12 daily codeshare flights from six Indian cities to Johannesburg via Abu Dhabi,” he adds. SAA also offers special fares to corporates. Khan adds, “South Africa is becoming one of the more popular MICE destinations and we want to ensure that the fares make it easier for corporates to plan their group travel. We offer special fares to organisations that have corporate agreements with us and group fares to other corporates planning large-scale activities and group travel.” SAA also offers reduced fares to large corporate groups on request. SAA also offers many food options to Indian travellers like Jain meals and Asian vegetarian meals. The airlines also has a loyalty programme called Voyager, which provides a host of benefits to its frequent flyers by giving them the option to redeem the travelled miles for various rewards, within three calendar years. Travellers accumulate miles not just by flying with South African Airways but also by flying with its partner airlines like Etihad Airways.