South African Airways dodges a bullet
Photo: Ray Barber / Flickr
South African Airways ramps up domestic flights
SA’s national carrier South African Airways has increased scheduled flights on its key domestic route network.
South African Airways dodges a bullet
Photo: Ray Barber / Flickr
South African Airways has added extra scheduled flights to key destinations in its domestic route network.
RAMPING UP
The restarted airline which was grounded from March 2020 until September 2021 has cautiously been scaling up its operations so that it is not wasteful of state funding.
Demand for air travel is rising in South Africa once again. Consequently, there is a need for additional airline seat capacity in South African skies.
AVIATION LANDSCAPE
Last year, the demise of Comair’s British Airways local franchise and budget carrier Kulula.com removed almost 40 percent of SA’s air transport capacity.
The earlier collapse of SA Express Airways and Mango Airlines contributed to the significant adjustment in South Africa’s aviation landscape.
EXTRA AIRCRAFT
According to CH-Aviation, South African Airways leased an additional Boeing 737-300 aircraft. This is in addition to five Airbus A 320 aircraft it currently has.
The move is to meet rising domestic demand while the airline continues to expand its network while the airline faces constraints with the aircraft it has.
SAA’s Interim Chief Executive Officer John Lamola said that the aircraft would be wet-leased for a limited period while South African Airways prepares itself for growth.
DOMESTIC ROUTES
Passengers may notice that the state-owned carrier has secured another aircraft for domestic flights.
From 9 July the new aircraft has been deployed on the high-volume routes between Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, Durban King Shaka, and Cape Town,
INTERCONTINENTAL FLIGHTS
The national carrier recently announced that it will be relaunching international flights to South America in October.
Sao Paulo in Brazil is the airline’s first intercontinental destination after SAA’s lengthy absence on the international aviation landscape.
The airline currently flies to 20 destinations within the country and on the African continent.
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