Has anyone managed to redeem BMI miles on SAA Airlink flights (SA8xxx flight numbers)

Apparently they might not really be considered part of *A

Looking at JNB-TNR (Antananarivo in Madagascar) flights around November time ... doesn't show in the ANA tool (though some Airlink flights do to other destinations) .. I called the ICC and they say they can see the flights but they are "sold out" every day

Fares are pretty hefty on this relatively short sector ( £380 r/t cheapest for a 3hr flight - closer to £500 most days ) .. so would be a worthwhile use of miles if it was possible to do so.