Flights to Cape Town launched by Swiss airline

Swiss airline Edelwiss Air launched its maiden flight to Cape Town from Zurich last week.Edelweiss, using its Airbus A330-200, is scheduled to fly the new route non-stop twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays.It becomes the second international carrier to launch flights to Cape Town this year, following Air France's new seasonal non-stop flights to the city out of Paris as of 3 November.

However, Air France has said it would consider extending its newly launched seasonal Cape Town Paris service to a year-round operation if demand remains consistent through this summer season.The airline last week inaugurated the first flights operated between the two cities since 1999.Senior Vice President Air France/KLM: Middle East and Africa, Pierre Descazeaux, said bookings had so far been strong with the Boeing 777-200 aircraft used on the route offering a good balance of product for the leisure and business traveller.The first flights are full and forward bookings are good. We know it will be a success and customers out of South Africa seem to be booking the destination Paris early,he explained.Mr. Descazeaux added Air France could consider utilizing larger aircraft on the route and could also increase frequencies, depending on demand.