South African Airways (SAA) is South Africa's national flag carrier airline. Rated by performance, flight routes covered and revenues, South African Airways is Africa's largest and best airline. Founded in 1934 after Union Airlines was acquired by the South African government, the airline is one of the oldest carriers in the country.
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The latest Airbus A330-300s will surely make you feel very comfortable and right at home
SAA have yet again been awarded a 4-star skytrax rating for the 16th consecutive year
South African Airways staff are friendly, profeesional and safety trained assuring you the best service
During the apartheid economic sanction years, South African Airways was also known by its Afrikaans name, "die Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens" or SAL, yet this has subsequently been dropped in favour of the English naming convention. The airline underwent a complete branding and livery make-over in 1997, when a brand new image and services such as online ticketing was introduced by the SAA board. During this process the old Sprinbok emblem, mirroring the old South African flag's colours, were phased out in favour of the modern South African Airways corporate identity.
During 2006 the airline split from Transnet, its former parent company, to operate as an independent entity. The airline has established links with other local airlines such as SAA Airlink and South African Express Airlines. South African Airways also owns Mango Airlines, a low cost South African airline that operates in the domestic flights market.
South African Airways is a member of the Star Alliance, the biggest airline alliance in the world. It is also the only South African Airline that's earned the prestigious Skytrax 4-star airline ranking. It's also earned the Skytrax best African Airline award for numerous years. South African Airways' headquarters are in Airways Park in Kempton Park, Gauteng. From this international hub, it flies to 38 domestic, regional and international locations.
| ROUTE | PRICE |
| South African Airways flights from Durban to Johannesburg (OR Tambo) | From R989.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to Durban | From R899.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to Cape Town | From R1289.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Cape Town to Johannesburg (OR Tambo) | From R1389.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Lanseria to Cape Town | From R1269.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Cape Town to Lanseria | From R1199.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Durban to Cape Town | From R1289.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Cape Town to Durban | From R1289.00 |
| South African Airways flights from George to Johannesburg (OR Tambo) | From R1989.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to George | From R1789.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth | From R1119.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg (OR Tambo) | From R1299.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to East London | From R1589.00 |
| South African Airways flights from East London to Johannesburg (OR Tambo) | From R1589.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Durban to London | From R12389.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to London | From R11699.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to Bangkok | From R6399.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Durban to Bangkok | From R6799.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to Mauritius | From R3889.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Durban to Mauritius | From R4489.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to Windhoek | From R2089.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Durban to Windhoek | From R2689.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to Dubai | From R7089.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Durban to Dubai | From R7489.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) to Harare | From R1789.00 |
| South African Airways flights from Durban to Harare | From R2799.00 |
South African Airways operates the following fleet:
In September 2017 it was announced that SAA would need to cut its fleet in order to return to profitability. The airline retired 5 of its narrow-body aircraft, reducing flights by 23% in order to comply with its turnaround strategy. The airline still operates the largest fleet in Africa, but is loss-making.
The airline flies to over 38 destinations worldwide, with direct flights to international hubs such Mumbai, Buenos Aires and London. Additional destinations include Europe, China Ctonou, Benin, Abuja, Nigeria, Madagascar, the Republic of Congo, Burundi and Cameroon. It also flies to a range of regional destinations in African on a regular basis. To find about more about SAA's routes, click here.
When flying with South African Airways, passengers can choose between the following classes:
Codeshare agreements
South African Airways has codeshare agreements with most of its Star Alliance partners. In addition, the airline also shares code with Airlink, Air Canada, Air India, Mauritius Airlines, Seychelles Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Jet Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Mango Airlines as well as Quantas Air, SA Express Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Controversy
Frequently accused of anti-competitive practices, and given successive and costly financial bail-outs by the South African government, South African Airways is no stranger to controversy. Several other South African airlines, including the likes of Flitestar Airlines, SunAir, Nationwide Airlines, and more recently Velvet Sky and 1time Airlines, have failed based on the fact that they couldn't compete on price with SAA, which seems to have particularly deep and government refilled pockets.
The airline has also been accused of racism, as it had rejected white cadet pilots on grounds of race, despite them having met the educational and physical criteria for acceptance.
The airline has also lost a number of executives in very short succession. The airline's financial situation is also currently the cause for the need for a turnaround strategy, which is currently being approved.
While the airline's financial situation was a serious cause of concern for the implementation of a new turnaround strategy, the state-owned entity lost a number of executives in very short succession, with a number of new appointments announced early 2018.
The South African Airways Fleet
As of 2012, SAA's fleet consists of over 50 Airbus and Boeing aircraft with an overage age of approximately 10 years per aircraft. To find about more about the SAA Fleet, click here.
South African Airways has received numerous awards and acknowledgements over the years. Some of the latest awards received by the airline include:
2018
2017
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ReservationsYou can contact SAA Reservations on 0861 FLYSAA (0861 359722) from 06:00 to 22:00 daily. For more information, visit www.flysaa.com
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Rating 5/5 : "on time and food and service great" Harinand Chutergon Published Date: 2018-09-07
Rating 4/5 : "Great and welcoming mostly comfortable, well trained staff when it comes to interaction with customers." Nothemba Published Date: 2018-10-19
Rating 5/5 : "I felt at home, everything was running smooth" Mpho Published Date: 2018-11-28
Rating 4/5 : "Good" Heidi Published Date: 2018-12-25
Rating 4/5 : "The service is so excellent&the prices are so reasonable" NTOMBI SAMBO Published Date: 2019-01-09
Rating 5/5 : "It was my first flight ever in my life using it and its got friendly staff ,comfortable." Mpendulo Published Date: 2019-02-16
Rating 5/5 : "Always very helpful " Manda Theart Published Date: 2019-03-17