Getting to Maputo will soon be easier — and, hopefully, cheaper ? than ever with the launch of a new airline flying out of Johannesburg.

TTA Airlink, a joint venture of South African regional airline SA Airlink and Mozambique's privately held TTA airline, will begin daily flights between the two cities on February 14, the paper said.

"The new Maputo service, which leaves Johannesburg in the morning and arrives back late in the day, will allow businessmen to travel to Maputo for a full day's business before returning home," SA Airlink spokesman Rodger Foster told Business Day.

SA Airlink holds a 49 percent share in the new company, with the remaining stake held by TTA, the newspaper reported.

TTA Airlink also plans to launch a network of flights connecting Maputo to the Mozambican cities of Beira, Tete and Nampula, Foster said.

The Johannesburg-Maputo route is currently served by just two companies, South African Airways and Mozambique's public airline, LAM.

Budget airline 1time in November announced plans to begin flying the route five times a week.