AIRLINK TO LAUNCH “SKYBUCKS” FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMME

23 February 2023, Johannesburg – Airlink, the Southern African premier airline, will launch its Skybucks frequent flyer programme on 01 March 2023, enabling its customers to earn rewards on its flights and redeem them against future travel and other Airlink purchases.

“Since Airlink became a totally independent carrier in 2020, we have been inundated by customer requests and suggestions for a unique Airlink loyalty programme. We have spent the past year researching, planning and developing our compelling new Skybucks programme. It enables our loyal customers to earn a rand value percentage on every flight and to redeem Skybucks on their next flight as a form of payment to more than 45 destinations in 13 sub-Sahara African countries, including Madagascar and St Helena Island,” explained Airlink CEO and Managing Director, Rodger Foster.

There will be four Skybucks membership tiers, with eligibility determined by the number of sectors or leg of a journey flown in 12 months (a typical Johannesburg-Durban-Johannesburg return ticket comprises two sectors).

• Blue Tier is for customers who have flown less than 18 sectors.
• Red is for 18 to 34 sectors.
• Emerald is for more than 35 sectors.
• Black tier membership is by invitation. only.

Each tier earns rewards at a different rate; the higher the tier, the more Skybucks are earned for the same flight at the same fare.

Initially, Skybucks can also be used for full or partial payment of air tickets (excluding statutory taxes and charges) and upgrades. Additional offerings and rewards will be announced as they are added to the programme.

Skybucks will be valid for 18 months from the date of the last activity, but it will be possible to extend their validity before they expire. They are also transferrable between members, and families of up to eight members can pool their Skybucks.

Customers will receive 1,000 Skybucks (Sb10 is worth R1) upon enrolment during March 2023. The enrolment process can be completed on www.skybucks.co.za.
Customers who have flown sufficient sectors with Airlink in the three months prior to becoming a member, will be eligible to move to a higher tier by furnishing the Airlink booking reference (a six-character code), ticket number, flight number and date of travel; as well as the departure and destination airports for the sectors previously flown.

If for any reason, a journey is not picked up by the system, members have 90 days from the date of flight to retroactively claim their Skybucks.

Tier membership is valid for 12 months, except for customers who will be automatically progressed to the next tier once they have flown the required number of sectors within that time frame.

“Besides providing a great added value loyalty programme for our customers, in doing so, we are also taking every measure to safeguard customer data privacy and are using servers situated in the European Union to manage the Skybucks membership information. As a result, data management and security will be compliant with both the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA),” assured Mr Foster.

For more information or to plan, book, and manage your Airlink journey, visit www.flyairlink.com, download the new FlyAirlink smartphone app, or contact your travel agent.

AIRLINK ADDS MPUMALANGA - VICTORIA FALLS FLIGHTS

26 April 2023, Johannesburg – Airlink, Southern Africa’s premier, independent and privately owned regional airline, will launch flights between Mbombela (Nelspruit) and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 28 November 2023.

The new route will complement Airlink’s existing service between Mbombela’s Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA) and Livingstone on the Zambian side of the world-famous waterfalls.

“The new service to Victoria Falls expands our direct connections between Southern Africa’s prime tourist attractions, i.e. the Kruger National Park and surrounds, Victoria Falls as well as Cape Town and the Garden Route. The new route provides travellers with a greater choice of itineraries using direct Airlink flights and without having to connect via Johannesburg,” said Airlink CEO and Managing Director, Rodger Foster.

To facilitate the new service, Airlink will adjust its KMIA-Livingstone flights to four per week.

The schedule will see the following flights being operated with modern Embraer regional jets:

Mbombela – Victoria Falls
4Z 476 departs KMIA 11.35 arrives Victoria Falls 13.25 Tue, Thu and Sat
4Z 477 departs Victoria Falls 14.00 arrives KMIA 15.40 Tue, Thu and Sat

Mbombela - Livingstone
4Z 470 departs KMIA 11.35 arrives Livingstone 13.30 Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun
4Z 471 departs Livingstone 14.00 arrives KMIA 15.40 Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun

Muli bwanji Malawi! Airlink to launch new Lilongwe and Blantyre routes.

31 May 2023, Johannesburg – Airlink, Southern Africa’s premier airline, will start operating flights between Johannesburg and both Lilongwe and Blantyre, Malawi from 23 September 2023.

Malawi becomes the 16th country to be included in Airlink’s comprehensive route network. Airlink will fly comfortable and efficient 37-seat Embraer Regional Jets on both new routes, which will operate three times a week.

“As the premier regional airline, Airlink sets out to provide travellers to and from Malawi with optimal connectivity through a wide choice of conveniently scheduled flights and connections within the region and, through our partners, to the rest of the world. In addition to supporting the revitalisation of tourism, Airlink’s new routes will also be able to play a key role in the current Malawi Growth and Development Strategy which aims to diversify the economy and build a wealthy, self-reliant and industrialised middle-income country,” explained Airlink CEO and Managing Director, Rodger Foster

Sustainable wildlife and tourism are vital to Malawi’s economy. The country is often referred to as “the warm heart of Africa” and was crowned as one of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel Top Countries in 2022. Tourist attractions include Lake Malawi (Africa’s third-largest, which is more like an inland sea), wildlife, adventure and its rich cultural heritage.

Flights on the new routes will operate at these times and days of the week from 23 September 2023:

Flight No Days of Week From Departure To Arrival
4Z 460 1.3.5.. JNB 11:00 LLW 13:20
4Z 461 1.3.5.. LLW 14:10 JNB 16:35

Flight No Days of Week From Departure To Arrival
4Z 450 .2.4..7 JNB 11:00 BLZ 13:05
4Z 451 .2.4..7 BLZ 14:15 JNB 16:35


Customers wanting to travel on these Airlink routes can book and manage their trips on flyairlink.com, Airlink’s smartphone app or through travel agents.