[cwoodward]

October represented a watershed month for the new South African Airways. Not only did the airline launch its first intercontinental flight to Sao Paulo Brazil but it has also taken delivery of another two leased A320s to boost its domestic fleet with an additional A330 said to be arriving soon.

The airline will also add a Johannesburg – Sao Paulo route next Monday.
Cape Town will operate the route on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with Johannesburg flights operating on Mondays and Thursdays.

SAA is growing again and now flying 11 international routes and by March 2024 expects to fly to 15 international destinations with a fleet of 13 aircraft. I suspect that Johannesburg to Perth Australia is a likely route for early 2024.

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Rferguson2

[Rferguson2]

Good news Cwoodward. I agree we will likely see JNB-PER back online soon. I know it used to be a profitable route for them and QANTAS was to launch the route late last year but pulled it at the last minute due to a spat over which terminal they would use.

What is the J product going to be like on their A330’s? Any idea where these are coming from?

[cwoodward]

Rf2, Both aircraft are leased.Reg ZS-SXJ and ZS-XSM and configured 46 Business and 203 economy. ZS-ZSM is 6.5 years old has been with the airline for some time possibly since new. ZS-ZSM is about the same age and was registered to SAA in September and still being painted but I suspect has been with the airline previously.
I still have a suspicion that the SA government’s 49% has a potential major airline buyer but I could well be wrong.

[cwoodward]

Rf2, re business class on SAA

SAA business cabin is defiantly new and with 1-2-1 flat bed seating. Image below

https://www.flysaa.com/manage-fly/during-the-flight/cabins/business-class

This from Airoflap
“The redesigned Business Class on SAA’s new A330-300 aircraft offers a new sleeper seat design, which is almost 2 meters long when fully extended. Each seat has individual aisle access and even more storage space. Passengers are welcomed on board with a refreshing drink and a special kit with travel essentials and premium cosmetics. The excellent à la carte menu includes a board with the best South African cheeses and wines selected by experts. Each seat has its own power outlet and reclines 180 degrees, made from the finest fabrics and leathers; the extra-large pillows and padded seat cover provide even more comfort. Noise-canceling headphones help block out cabin sounds and watch movies on the inflight entertainment service.”

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Rferguson2

[AndrewinHK]

The inaugural flight was several hours late in both directions. I will be taking this flight in December, I look forward to reviewing the journey. I was happy to see that the 330 is now operating exclusively, when I booked originally it had the 330 outbound and 340 inbound.

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Rferguson2, cwoodward

[sparkyflier]

AndrewinHK – disappointing to hear the inaugeral was very late. Not a good start. I do wonder if having flights to GRU from both Joburg and Cape Town will have operational inefficiency and risk (and extra cost). Super to hear you are going to Sao Paulo – a spectacular city with great energy.

Yes sensibly SAA are putting their A340-300 on the Lagos, Accra & Abidjan routes, and so using their more fuel efficient A330 on the longer GRU routes.

An anecdote about the A340-300- they take ages to get to cruising altitude. The 2 engines on a A330 have a lot more welly in them than the 4 on the A340-300 and when on the latter you can wonder if the plane will actually get up there!

No issue with the A340 apart from that – although prefer the -600 which has far superior and more powerful engines.

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AndrewinHK

[cwoodward]

The lateness of the inaugural long haul flights as ‘sparkyflyer’ points up I feel that the airline still has a long way to go before it is securely reestablished. This is pointed up by SAA this week missing filing its accounts on time with the SAA government. The consequence of this is that the government and major players will not finally sign-off the reestablishment until these accounts are filed which is essential in order for SAA to move forward and expand. I cannot find one skeric of news re the cause of the lateness or any further mention online at all re these flights.

Prior to the pandemic and the airlines collapse SAA operated seven long-haul routes from Johannesburg aside from GRU, the carrier flew from JNB to: Frankfurt; Hong Kong; London Heathrow; Munich; New York John F. Kennedy; and Perth, Australia and it is these routes that the airline is looking to reestablish with Perth likely to be the next to be established early in 2024 followed I suspect by LHR where they still have slots.

Domestically things are moving along well with the following routes already running again or announced. Accra, Ghana; Blantyre, Malawi; Harare, Zimbabwe; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Lagos, Nigeria; Lilongwe, Malawi; Lusaka, Zambia; Mauritius; Victoria Falls, and Windhoek, Namibia.

Just a bit of nonsense that I picked up when looking at SAA news is that Skytrax for 2021 voted SAA a the second best African Airline – when they were not even operating. I guess that they must have paid up-front prior to collapsing !

[AndrewinHK]

I also have domestic flights booked with SAA and I’ve been contacted saying the SAA aircraft assigned to the flight will be replaced with a leased Sun Express 737 without J seating. I had booked J on an SAA 320, I requested the fare difference be refunded, to be told that will take quite a long time. I have plenty of patience for the SAA staff as every interaction I’ve had with them, I’ve found them to be very nice, somewhat held back by muddled operations. I also note todays Cape Town to São Paulo flight is delayed by 10 hours….

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cwoodward

[Rferguson2]

There was a webinar this week with the airlines CEO whom confirmed PER would be open for sale probably next week with flights commencing in March.

She says that the airline plans to take delivery of three more longhaul aircraft next year and the routes they will be looking at following PER will be London and Frankfurt.

https://www.thesouthafrican.com/lifestyle/perth-south-african-airways-to-restart-route-in-2024-breaking-5december-2023/

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cwoodward, AndrewinHK

[cwoodward]

From SA reports

In an expansive interview last week Carla da Silva speaking to Southern and East African Tourism Update , GM Sales, Marketing, e-Commerce and Distribution for South African Airways said the airline had secured leases on aircraft to support its 2024 corporate plan and that the airline hoped to publish its Perth schedule next week for a March 2024 launch.She also revealed that by next year, SAA will have 21 aircraft in its fleet, with the arrival of three aircraft in January. An Airbus A350 was also on the horizon, she said.

SEAT said that next on the list of international priorities for the national carrier are the resumption of the London and Frankfurt routes, which each require two aircraft. Following on from that, SAA is looking to reintroduce its New York and Washington routes.

My concern is that this announced expansion is not too much too soon for the immature funding base of SAA. .

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sparkyflier

[Rferguson2]

SAA posted this on X over the weekend:

“Brace yourselves for the announcement you’ve all been waiting for!
Like a Boomerang we are coming back. The route you’ve been asking for has arrived. Get ready to soar with SAA, your thrilling journey from Jozi to… begins now! Guess where we’re headed to?”

They are expected to announce JNB-PER today, commencing flights APR28.

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AndrewinHK, cwoodward

[AndrewinHK]

@sparkyflier I thought it better to respond here on the 330 question. Overall my trip with SAA was decent, excellent if you take into consideration the price I paid. The 330 is comfortable and only 6 years old. I was surprised by how busy the route was, it was 100% full on the return leg. Issues more broadly with SAA. I am still waiting for a refund on a flight they retimed without telling me, so I canceled (fully flex J ticket), and subsequently then refunded to a card that wasn’t mine (showing me the card number), in the interim, the card details they had of mine were used for unauthorized transactions meaning I had to cancel my card, which might very well be a coincidence, but given the lacks security measures I have some suspicion. Still waiting for the refund for more than 2 months now.

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sparkyflier, AMcWhirter

[cwoodward]

Andrew your experience encapsulates many of the problems existing in SA -corruption -inexperience and lack of properly trained managers.

The bones are there for SAA to grow and prosper but to do so they need an experienced international operator to purchase the governments 49% and inject expertise and funds.
Without a strong partner it will be a struggle for them and one that I fear they may not win.

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AndrewinHK

[sparkyflier]

Andrew thank you for the update. Sounds a very stressful process and one you could have done without, especially around a holiday! Hope Sao Paulo was good however – love that city and its energy.

It is good to hear the route was being supported but frankly the issues with your card and refunds etc are very worrying indeed. I guess if flying with them best to book via a travel agent.

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cwoodward

[cwoodward]

It seems that SAAs expansion plans are progressing faster than most anticipated with the key being the aquision of A350 aircraft.

Recently SAA’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John Lamola, stated in a press briefing “SAA’s operations have progressed positively since the airline emerged from business rescue, and SAA is no longer technically insolvent, a milestone which we reached a year earlier than projected”.

However, while its finances have been improving, SAA in its current form will I believe be struggling to fund much fast growth this year without a new shareholder to take a good slice of the governments 49% shareholding which they have long been negotiating with Takatso Aviation, 80% owned by Harith General Partners a leading, pan-African multi fund manager a company seemingly formed to take a strategic controlling shareholding in SAA.
Reportedly progress has been recently made and it is expected by many that negotiations will soon be finalised.

In an earlier statement Lamola indicated that the airline had located the first two A350 aircraft and the airlines second rebuilding phase is set to begin in April the first month of its new financial year which will see the airline eventually resume flights to Frankfurt, London LHR and New York JFK with A350s.
London has long being nominated as the first A350 route and where South African Airways still owns its Heathrow slots.

If SAA can get the LHR route up and running this year it will I believe go a long way towards cementing the airlines re-emergence as a major player in African aviation.

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SenatorGold

[Author]

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