Johannesburg, Star of the Rainbow Nation

Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa. Commonly referred to as ‘Jo’Burg’, ‘Jozi’ or ‘eGoli”, this city which originated as a small gold mining town in the late 19th century, is today, a prominent metropolis in post-apartheid South Africa. Johannesburg is the capital of the affluent Gauteng province and functions as the most important financial and economic hub of South Africa.

It is estimated that Johannesburg accounts for 40% of all of Gauteng’s economic activity while producing 16% of South Africa’s GDP. The city also hosts the largest stock exchange in Africa, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and its major industries include banking, information technology, transport, real estate, broadcast and print media and retail. Mining is not done within the city limits nowadays though tourism and hospitality play a major role in the city’s economy for Johannesburg is often used as a gateway to various destinations and game reserves in the country.

Further enhancing the city’s business profile, is the fact that Johannesburg which is neither located near an ocean or a major river, is also home to an extensive inland freight container terminal at City Deep, which resembles a port.  In fact it is believed that Johannesburg accounts for 70% of all business conducted out of South Africa. Additionally, this skyscraper laden city which hosts several hotels, shopping malls and championship golf courses, is also choice locale for conferences and conventions on the African continent.

If you need to get to Johannesburg for work or even for a vacation, you may want to consider flying by air business class, for your journey is most likely to be a long haul trek. Business flights to Johannesburg allow you to rest relax and even work onboard in comfortable environs, well supplied with necessities like food, drink and even seat power.

Moreover business class flights to Johannesburg are not always prohibitive for deep, discounted business tickets to Johannesburg and several worldwide destinations  can be obtained through one stop, travel management companies like Fare Buzz. Fare Buzz gains access to these cheap business class tickets to Johannesburg and elsewhere by way of its exclusive relationship with more than 60 domestic and international carriers. These discounted tickets come loaded with all the perks of regular business class to Johannesburg though they offer incredible value as they are priced nearly 70% lower than normal fares. So if you are looking to fly cheaply on business class airlines, you should connect with Fare Buzz without wasting any more time.

Keeping in mind Johannesburg’s growing stature on the world economic stage, several airlines have recently increased their services to the city’s O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Africa.

Ethiopian Airlines has recently announced that it is going to inaugurate its forthcoming B787 Dreamliner aircraft, offering 24 Cloud 9 reclining business class seats and 246 economy seats on its route from Addis Ababa to Johannesburg from June 15th 2012.  Similarly, British Airways has announced that it plans to increase its services between London Heathrow and Johannesburg from 14 to 17 flights weekly from March 25th 2012. However this increase will be only for selected periods and details will be announced shortly.

Not to be outdone, South Africa’s own South African Airways has also recently on January 31, 2012, launched a direct flight between Johannesburg and Beijing making it the only airline to offer a non-stop service between the two cities. This thrice-weekly service features A340-600 aircraft which offer 42 flatbed seats in Business class that offer 180 degrees of recline and 275 spacious seats in coach.  Premier class passengers on this service are entitled to use SAA’s lounges at Johannesburg‘s International Airport along with Air China’s lounges at Beijing Capital International airport on arrival.