Automotive Business Review September | Page 80

Fly ing High Beating the Petrol Price Blues With the price of fuel, both petrol and diesel, having reached historically high proportions in the past few months, a visit to the forecourt is now a painful experience. So anything to ameliorate the pain is welcomed. T hus, the This is in line with our announcement on efforts to actively extend 31 July 2014 that our range of partners for our SAA Voyager is partnering valued members beyond with Total South Africa to airline travel. offer SAA Voyager Miles at With 500 participating participating TOTAL retail TOTAL service stations service stations nationwide, nationwide, we are can only be described as confident our members will very good news for SAA be really pleased with this Voyager members, as they latest partnership,” says can now earn Miles every SAA executive for Customer time they fill up at TOTAL. Loyalty Suretha Cruse. “With TOTAL being the SAA Voyager members largest fuel retailer in Africa ➲ Suretha Cruse and Qetello Zeka prepare to sign the agreement earn one SAA Voyager Mile and SAA Voyager being for every one litre of fuel Africa’s leading airline loyalty purchased at TOTAL, and these Miles can be redeemed for flights, programme, there’s a natural synergy between the two partners. car rental, spa vouchers and lifestyle products or services. We want to give our customers greater value and added benefits, at the same time; we understand their need for quality brands. Fuel customers who are not SAA Voyager members, We therefore have joined forces with SAA Voyager, a premium brand, to give value back to our customers,” explains Qetello Zeka, general manager for Sales and Marketing at Total South Africa. and who would like to take advantage of this benefit from 1 August 2014, need to register to become a SAA Voyager member at www.flysaa.com. Voyager is SAA’s loyalty programme, and SAA Voyager members earn miles when they fly with SAA, other airline partners and nonair partners including amongst many selected hotels, financial institutions, car hire companies, lifestyle-related service providers, and now their first petroleum supplier partner, Total South Africa. “By teaming up with Total South Africa, we are now able to offer our members yet another opportunity to earn SAA Voyager Miles. ➲ Suretha Cruse. SAA executive for Customer Loyalty has some exciting news for Voyager members, but that they will have to wait till October for the announcement. She says “Watch this space”, but promises some exciting changes to the Voyager Programme. She excitedly tells us that the business model has been reviewed, and that we can expect the class leading customer value proposition on the African continent ➲ Qetello Zeka, general manager for Sales and Marketing at Total South Africa, tells aBr that Total is committed to Africa, from Cape to Cairo, and as such is the largest fuel retailer on the continent. She adds that Total also stands for Better Energy, and with its investments in drilling off the West Coast of South Africa, and equity in solar power companies, Total straddles the future with a balance between fossil fuels and alternative energy | logistics in action ➲ Guest speaker at the function was Total’s recently appointed brand ambassador Siyabulela (Siya) Lethuxolo Xuza, who has just completed his energy-engineering studies at Harvard University. Siya’s passion for rocket fuel led to him winning the top award at the International Science & Engineering Fair in the US, and he has even had a minor planet (23182) named after him. He is now home, and his new company is focusing on fuel cell development 78 september 2014