South Africa Airways makes maiden flight to Washington

South African Airways, one of Africa's most revered airlines, began its maiden flight from Accra to Washington DC, the United States capital, on August 2.

This makes the airline the first among the many airlines flying to Ghana to offer direct flights to Washington after United Airlines pulled out of that route.

An hour before the flight at 10.55p.m. some selected passengers and dignitaries on the flight were offered the rare opportunity to witness a spectacular water canon display on the wide body of the Airbus A340 aircraft to signify the start of nonstop direct flight services from the Kotoka international Airport to the Dulles Airport.

Flight

At exactly 10.55p.m. the fairly new aircraft taxied along the tarmac and off it left to begin its maiden journey that lasted about 10 hrs 50 minutes.

While airborne, passengers were treated to delectable starters as the beginning of the culinary experience.

It featured four main course options, suited for travellers in the mood for either a healthy or a hearty meal.

All meals were paired with the finest South African wines uniquely selected to meet the aspirations of the passengers.

The friendly cabin crew were always on call to offer any service required no matter the area one was seated.

The seats of the airline were well spaced to accommodate any passenger irrespective of their height.

Due to the sheer size of the aircraft, the cabin compartments are spacious enough to take slightly bigger hand luggage.

For entertainment, passengers had the choice from a wide range of movies from comedy to thriller to action; and wide range of cartoons for the kids to select from.

Arrival at Washington

By 5.05a.m. USA time the aircraft touched down at the Dulles Airport in Washington to another impressive water canon display to welcome the passengers aboard the flight.

Upon arrival at Washington after the almost 11-hour journey, the airline's office in the US capital held a mini ceremony to welcome all the passengers aboard the aircraft.

The Executive Vice-President of SAA- The Americas, Mr Marc S. Cavaliere, described the move by the airline to fly direct from Accra as a testimony to positive dream of the airline to connect Africa and the world through South Africa Airlines.

According to him, the hustling by many transiting other states before reaching their destination in Washington had become a thing of the past and urged the attendees at the function to spread the positive news about the airline.

Launch in Ghana

Earlier on Friday, the airline hosted a cocktail at the Labadi Beach Hotel to launch the flight.

The Minister of Transport, Madam Dzifah Ativor, said the launch of the flight was a manifestation of the government’s commitment to the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision, which aims at liberalising air travel within the African continent as well as creating the enabling regulatory and operational environment for partnerships and businesses to thrive within the sub-region and Africa as a whole.

The policy objective of the "government as contained in the National Transport Policy is to establish Ghana and for that matter the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) as an Aviation Hub within the West African Sub-region."

"The hub concept requires that we strategically position and equip our airports with state-of-the-art facilities and provide quality operations and services to make it the preferred point of origin and destination for both scheduled and unscheduled flights. The essence is to ensure that there is flexibility in travel by passengers to various destinations from Accra," she added.

Ghana is currently going through Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) audits to restore its lost FAA Category One Status to enable access by Ghanaian carriers, particularly the new national airline being established, to fly to the United States.

VIP passengers

The chief Executive Officer of Ghana Airports, Mr Charles Asare, told the Daily Graphic that the SAA story was a testimony to the making of Kotoka a major hub on the continent.

The Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce, Mr Simon Madjie, described the experience as delightful and refreshing.