Posted by 
Manama, Bahrain, June 3, 2010: British Airways has announced that the airline will be carrying over 70,000 passengers to South Africa during the forthcoming World Cup.
The airline has dedicated 19 flights a week to Johannesburg and seven flights to Cape Town in South Africa, in addition to other connection flights to several domestic and regional destinations on board of its franchise carrier, Comair.
As official airline of England 2018 World Cup bid, British Airways is helping football fans get into the spirit of the World Cup. During June and July, special on-board announcements will be made on South Africa flights to invite customers to back the England 2018 bid. Dedicated aircraft painted with black and white football nose cones will operate on some of the flights.
Gary Lineker, former football striker in England team who has helped British Airways launch its support for backing the bid, said: “Hosting the World Cup 2018 would be a privilege and a great boost for English football. We have a 100 per cent record in home World Cups and it would be wonderful to keep up that performance.”
Commenting on the airline’s flights to South Africa, Ashley Cowen, British Airways’ Area Regional Manager, Asia Pacific and Africa, said: “South Africa is one of our most popular destinations, even more so this summer. We are thrilled to be welcoming so many customers to the Rainbow Nation in the coming weeks.”
British Airways will fly 2.5 million customers during June
==== END ====
Notes to Editors:
- Comair operates flights to; Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Mauritius, Kruger National Park and Harare
For more information on British Airways, please visit our website: www.ba.com
To help back the bid, please visit the website: www.england2018bid.com
For further information or images, please contact:
B.E. International Bahrain Office:
Safiya Khonji, Account Manager, BEI – +973 3 9652666
About British Airways:
British Airways has a worldwide route network that covers more than 150 destinations in 75 countries.
British Airways has been operating flights to the Middle East for almost 78 years emphasising its long-term commitment to the region.
British Airways currently operate 59 weekly flights from eight Middle East markets to London Heathrow. This includes daily services to Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, ten weekly services to Saudi Arabia and a twice daily service to Dubai International.
British Airways operates from Terminal 5 at London Heathrow. The state-of-the-art Terminal 5 is exclusive to the airline’s customers and is capable of handling 30 million customers a year.
Photos are available on www.newscast.co.uk
For further information on British Airways visit www.ba.com
