Sunshine Tour and Airlink Partnership Takes Off

The Sunshine Tour and Airlink today announced a new partnership in which Airlink will be the official airline to the Tour.

The one-year partnership will include preferential rates for Sunshine Tour professionals and staff.

“We are very proud to welcome Airlink to the Sunshine Tour family. This partnership plays a vital role as we continue to expand our schedule and offer greater playing opportunities within South Africa and into the rest of Africa, and with Airlink able to offer a reliable and premier service for our travelling professionals and staff,” said Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour.

Airlink is Southern Africa’s largest privately-owned airline connecting to the widest network with more than 45 destinations in 13 African countries and St Helena Island.

The timing of the partnership coincides with the Sunshine Tour’s announcement of its latest expanded schedule which includes several new tournaments to destinations within South Africa as well as to neighbouring African countries.

“Airlink is proud to be associated with the Sunshine Tour, and we welcome the Sunshine Tour professional golfers and staff as our customers,” said Airlink CEO and Managing Director, Rodger Foster.

“Airlink offers unrivalled travel choices to the broadest network of destinations with the most comprehensive flight schedule within Southern Africa. Just as we do with all our clientele, it is our mission to deliver extraordinary and memorable travel experiences.”

The Sunshine Tour is a men’s professional golf tour based in Southern Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vodacom Tour and the FNB Tour. For the 2000–01 season the tour rebranded itself as the Sunshine Tour in an attempt to broaden its appeal. A large majority of the tour events are still staged in South Africa.

The tour is one of the six leading men’s tours which before 2009 made up the membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, but it offers much less prize money than some of the leading tours, and leading Southern African golfers traditionally prefer to play on the PGA Tour or the European Tour if they can qualify to do so, typically returning to play in Sunshine Tour events a couple of times a year.