South African Airways to expand fleet and relaunch international routes

12, May 2023/in News /by Dave

South African Airways (SAA) has announced plans to lease six new Airbus aircraft, including a wide-body plane, to expand its fleet, relaunch international routes, and increase seat capacity for regional and domestic destinations, offering new business opportunities for UK-based travellers.

South African Airways has been given the green light to expand its fleet with the approval of a plan to lease six new aircraft by the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Public Enterprises.

The expansion is aimed at paving the way for the national carrier to relaunch international routes and increase seat capacity for its regional and domestic destinations.

Interim CEO, Professor John Lamola, expressed his excitement about the development, stating that the aircraft will be delivered before the end of this calendar year and will include a wide-body aircraft as well as five narrow-body aircraft, all of them Airbus equipment.

He said,

We are excited, as SAA, to lay the groundwork for the relaunch of our first international route since coming out of business rescue and since the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We will announce the new route in the coming few weeks, and we will open commercial marketing and sales for it

The terms and conditions attached to the deals for the new aircraft are along the same competitive, transparent, and cost-effective lines that have characterised the ‘new’ SAA since it emerged from Business Rescue in September 2021, Lamola added.

The four aircraft that we are ordering will all be deployed by September 2023. This is a significant boost for the domestic and regional markets and underscores our commitment to expanding our route network and increasing our frequency in the African market. It will also ensure that the equilibrium between the supply of seats and the flow of traffic will benefit our passengers.

The move is set to benefit UK-based business travellers who will have greater access to African markets, including South Africa.

Commenting on the development, Professor John Lamola said

This expansion represents a significant boost for the African market and underscores our commitment to expanding our route network and increasing our frequency. With this new fleet, we are confident that we will offer our customers a world-class flying experience, with the highest levels of safety and comfort. We are excited to be able to relaunch our first international route since the pandemic, and we look forward to welcoming business travellers from the UK to explore the many business opportunities that Africa has to offer.

The airline is also currently inviting proposals for four A320 narrow-body aircraft, with the other two, an A330 and A320, having already been secured from the lessor community on the same terms as the ones issued in the RFP.

South African Airways announces plans to close regional, international routes from 29 February

7, February 2020/in News /by Dave

SAA has announced a tranche of urgent measures to conserve cashflow, including the axing of several regional and international routes from the end of February 2020.

SAA will close the following regional and international services from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo. But will continue to operate all international services between Johannesburg and Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York, Perth and Washington via Accra.

On the domestic route network, SAA will continue to serve Cape Town on a reduced basis. But all other domestic destinations, including Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, will cease to be operated by SAA on 29 February 2020.

Domestic routes operated by Mango will not be affected by the changes.

The flight schedule for the rest of February 2020 remains unchanged and the airline states that it “does not intend to make any further significant network changes”.

“SAA continues operations as normal”

20, January 2020/in News /by Natalie

MONDAY, 20 JANUARY 2020: Following media reports that South African Airways will cease operations, the airline has issued a media release.

The media release states the following:

South African Airways (SAA) wishes to assure its customers and stakeholders that flights to all its destinations continue as normal.
The airline is aware of media reports suggesting that it will cease operations. SAA is always committed to transparently communicate with all stakeholders, including customers, about any material or significant operational changes that may have an impact on flight schedules.
Where there may be flight schedule amendments, such operational changes will be managed and communicated in accordance with the industry norms and practices.

*SAA released a statement to the media on Monday, 20 January*

Global Travel Management continues to support clients with bookings on SAA or wishing to travel on any of the airlines’ routes.

We will update our website if the information in this story changes.

South Africa: Workers of South African Airways threaten to strike this weekend, talks continue

4, October 2017/in News /by Dave

South African Airways (SAA) said late on Tuesday afternoon that it has been served with a notice of intention to start industrial action by a labour union. The industrial action is a consequence of a wage increase disagreement. SAA’s maintenance subsidiary, SAA Technical (SAAT), received a notice of the intention to embark on industrial action at the weekend from one labour union following the tabling of a wage increase proposal by SAAT.

Parties have held several other meetings since the notice was served and are expected to meet again on Wednesday morning, according to SAA. SAA said that once it received the notification, it began to review and update its contingency measures to ensure business continuity and to minimize the impact of strike action on its operations.

The airline will issue a follow-up communication on Wednesday morning after the meeting with the unions advising whether the strike is in fact taking place or the extent to which the strike has affected its operations if at all.

Update Travel Alert/South Africa/Strike Action

18, January 2013/in News /by Dave

Pretoria — Strike action by the National Transport Movement (NTM) has not impacted operations at South African Airways (SAA), the airline said on Friday.
“There has been no impact whatsoever on SAA’s operations as a result of the strike. We emphasise that no flights have been cancelled or delayed as a result of the industrial action,” said SAA spokesperson Tlali.
Previously the NTM had served a notice to the airline for strike action last Friday.
In December, SAA met with NTM at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to conclude the verification process that would allow the union to be recognised by the airline.
However, the CCMA confirmed that the union has 1,111 members and needed to have 1220 to meet 30% of 4065 employees who are part of the bargaining unit. This therefore confirmed that NTM failed to meet the 30% threshold. This was the reason the NTM remains unrecognised at SAA.
Last week, the airline said it was committed to business-continuity and has a contingency plan to avoid any unnecessary inconvenience to customers.

Your Corporate Travel Newsletter

20, June 2012/in Corporate Travel Newsletter /by Paul

Singapore Airlines – All A380 From London.

All three of Singapore Airlines’ services from London Heathrow to Singapore are now operated solely by Airbus A380 aircraft; previously one of the three daily services was operated using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

From this October, Singapore Airlines will also add an additional fourth daily rotation between London & Singapore. The new service will be gradually phased in starting from Friday 14th September, before becoming a daily service during week commencing 21st October.

Emirates’ Business Rewards Program.

Business Rewards is a loyalty program open to companies whose employees travel around the world with Emirates.

Customers can enrol online and subsequently earn Business Rewards Miles, which can then be redeemed for flights or upgrades. Individual Skywards frequent flyer members will continue to earn and collect the same number of Skywards Miles as they always have.

SAA To Axe Cape Town Service.

The 15th August 2012 will see South African Airways’ (SAA) last service from London to Cape Town. SAA has blamed its decision (to withdraw the service) on increased competition by both, direct and indirect airlines, reduced demand, increases in the UK’s Air Passenger Duty and the introduction of a £52 visa fee for South Africans travelling to the UK.

New Virgin Atlantic Service To Vancouver.

Virgin Atlantic has launched a new four times weekly service to Vancouver from London Heathrow. Services operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays in both directions.

Construction Work At LAX.

Please note that construction work inside the international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), may result in longer walks, or passengers being bussed to/from their aircraft.

The work is scheduled to take approximately 6 months, lasting until the end of November. Because of this many airlines are advising passengers to allow at least 75 minutes for check in, if they have hold luggage, and 60 minutes for those with hand luggage only. This is to allow extra time to clear security and reach the departure gate a minimum of 40 minutes prior to departure.

AA To Go Ten Across.

As widely predicted, American Airlines will adopt a dense ten across layout (3-4-3) for the economy cabin of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which enter service this December.

At present American’s existing fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft are configured 2-5-2, by comparison British Airways fleet of 777’s are configured 3-3-3.

The aircraft with the new economy class layout will enter service between Dallas and Sao Paulo, and is also planned to operate from Dallas to London on December 30th, followed by New York JFK to Heathrow on February 14th 2013.

The move to the new ten across lay out has been made to reduce operating costs so that American can keep its fares as low as possible.

Two New Hotels Open In London.

Two new hotels have recently opened their doors in central London. Firstly, the 5* Bulgari Hotel & Residences, is situated at 171 Knightsbridge.

Secondly, the ME London is located on the Strand, at the southern tip of Covent Garden. With its very central location, the hotel is only a short walk to Fleet Street and EC4, the River Thames, Waterloo Bridge and the theatre district.