SAA goes for more direct sales
South African Airways is refocusing its direct sales strategy to “capitalise on business growth opportunities”.
The carrier has reversed a decision to switch its UK-based call centre to Johannesburg and moved UK and Ireland marketing manager Russel Barlow Jones to the position of direct sales manager.
Tebogo Tsimane, SAA ‘s UK and Ireland general manager is returning to South Africa to become head of sales for Africa and the Middle East. He will continue to oversee both roles until a replacement has been found for the UK.
A statement said: “A head office review of continuing growth opportunities has prompted SAA to reverse its earlier plans to switch the handling of UK customer calls to SAA’s centralised call centre in Johannesburg.”
Barlow Jones said: “Given the passenger growth we are experiencing, and the excellent performance of the UK call centre, it makes good sense to keep the function running in the UK for the foreseeable future.”
He added: “We have a first class sales team, especially in our call centre, which has consistently been recognised by the Benchmarking Performance Analysis for delivering the highest standard of customer service in the industry.
“My priority will be to work with the direct sales team to build on the successes of the past year to deliver even higher levels of customer service to meet the growth in demand for SAA flights.”
Despite the refocus, the carrier said that “industry sales also remain a priority”.
UK and Ireland sales manager Judy D’Arcy and her team “will continue to actively deliver the most competitive deals and the highest level of support to its trade customers,” the statement said.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt