SAA set to restart intercontinental flights within two months

South African Airways (SAA) aims to start flying to intercontinental destinations within the next two months.

South Africa’s national carrier South African Airways is in a growth phase. The company also posted a profit for the year. 

In an interview with Biznews, SAA’s interim chairperson Derek Hanekom laid out some of the airline’s plans.

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A SMALLER SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS

In its current form, SAA is a shadow of its former self, having been grounded for a lengthy period from May 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and it then underwent an extended business rescue process.

The restructured airline restarted scheduled operations in September 2021 but on a much smaller scale.

“It (SAA) has been reduced to quite a small airline as we stand now. But, you know, it was facing liquidation, went into business rescue, came out of business rescue.” Hanekom told Biznews.

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SAA’S GROWING FLEET

When the restructured national carrier restarted operations almost two years ago, it had few aircraft and thus could not operate an extensive flight schedule.

The airline says it will be acquiring additional aircraft as part of its expansion plans.

“At the moment there are seven aircraft, owned or leased by SAA, and SAA will soon be leasing additional aircraft to bring the fleet up to effectively 13 aircraft.” Hanekom said.

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FLIGHT NETWORK

South African Airways restarted scheduled flights in September 2021 with only one domestic route and a couple of regional routes (destinations on the African continent).

The airline currently flies to Accra, Blantyre, Cape Town, Durban, Harare, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lilongwe, Mauritius, Victoria Falls and Windhoek.

“We have 12 routes, two of them inside the country, domestic routes from Durban to Johannesburg and Cape Town to Johannesburg, and then quite a number of African regional routes, in fact, ten of them.” Hanekom said.

INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS

South African Airways flew to key destinations on all continents before it was grounded in 2020. The restarted national airline said it would not resume intercontinental flights until there was sufficient demand for this.

The airline is now ready to add intercontinental flights to its schedule.

“So, by the end of this year, we anticipate having 20 routes altogether, two of which will be intercontinental routes, i.e. international routes. And the first one at this stage, it’s sort of common knowledge, although it hasn’t been publicly announced. But the first one on the cards would be the Sao Paulo route.” Hanekom said. 

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FLYING TO SOUTH AMERICA

The company aims to start up flights to the South American continent within the next two months. The airline will first head to Sao Paulo in Brazil.

“We are proceeding with our plan step by step, incrementally. As I say, we’ll be starting with the first international flight probably about two months from now and probably by the end of October, the second international flight.” Hanekom said. 

SCALING UP

South African Airways was a key enabler for the country’s tourism sector, carrying many international visitors to SA on its flights.

SAA is looking at resuming scheduled flights to a number of international destinations by the end of the year.

“We’re looking at the London route, the Frankfurt route, the Perth route, the New York route, and possibly New York, Accra. We currently fly to Accra. So, those are all routes that are being looked at as possible routes.” Hanekom said.

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