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  About African Airways

South African Airways is the official national flag carrier of South Africa and is wholly owned by the government of the country. It has its headquarters in Airways Park within the premise of O.R Tambo International Airport. The airport is also a hub for South African Airways as well as a hub-and-spoke network that links about 40 domestic route cities and international route destinations spread across the continents of Africa, Europe, Asia, North and South America and Oceania. The airline's base is at O.R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. South African Airways joined the Star Alliance group in 2006, becoming the first African carrier to have signed a deal with one of the three major airline alliances. The airline was founded following acquisition of Union Airways (South Africa's first commercial airline) by the government of South Africa, in 1934. The airline was initially operated and managed by the South African Railways and Harbours Administration. In 1997, the airline changed its name from Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens to South African Airways. Further, as part of their rebranding, the airline also introduced a new aircraft livery and online ticketing services.

The airline bid farewell to its parent company, Transnet in 2006 to operate as an independent entity. It remains to be one of the largest state-owned services in South Africa. South African Airways also owns a subsidiary, Mango, which is a low-cost carrier that caters to the domestic market. The same has established links with South African Express and Airlink. In 2005, the airline became the first non-Saudi airline in the world to operate direct Hajj services to the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. The same year, the airline also started operations on the Johannesburg-Accra-Washington, D.C. route four times in a week. For this journey, they used the Boeing 747-400. By 2006, South African Airways enabled an increase in in-flight services to various international destinations. The airline eventually retired the last of its 747-400 fleet in 2007. As the airline became a member of Star Alliance, the codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines was terminated. To commemorate their association with Star Alliance, South African Airways painted two of its aircraft, an Airbus A340-600 and a Boeing 737-800 with the Star Alliance livery.

In 2007, South African Airways made an announcement by revealing its 18-month comprehensive plan to restructure its functions and operations. The restructuring programme aimed to enhance the company's profitability. The plan was supposed to help the airline save up about R2.7 billion (USD 378.2 million). Interestingly, the airline did manage to save about R2.5 billion by 2009. Two of the retired Boeing 747-400s were reactivated to cater to the Lagos route and eventually Luanda too. By 2012, South African Airways commenced services to Beijing in China. They further announced plans to offer non-stop direct services to Beijing as well as Mumbai, in 2015. Although the airline initially used Star Alliance to operate services to China, they were soon changed with Air China's partnership accommodating flights to Beijing. The airline reported in the same year that destinations such as Munich, Perth, Hong Kong and Frankfurt are the only profit-making long-haul routes for South African Airways.

In contrast, the other destinations didn't add to the revenue. In 2017, the airline cut back on its fleet size by 23 percent of flights and acquired a loan from Standard Chartered Bank too. Despite trying to accumulate finances, the airline hasn't been able to recover from the losses and announced cease operations after serving the state for about 86 years. Instead, a new airline would be introduced to replace South African Airways.

Fleet size of South African Airways

As of 2020, South African Airways had a fleet size of 23 which only operated Airbus aircraft. The airline's fleet configuration included three Airbus A319-100s, ten Airbus A320-200s, one Airbus A330-200, five Airbus A330-300s and four Airbus A350-900s As an airline that was prevalent in the aviation industry for a long time, South African Airways' fleet has seen a considerable number of varied aircraft. While it might presently have aircraft predominantly from the Airbus family, the airline did host a number of diverse aircraft. These included Airspeed AS.6 Envoy, Avro 685 York, de Havilland DH.60 Gypsy Moth, Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-7, Hawker Siddeley HS 748, Junkers Ju 52/3m, Junkers W.34, Lockheed L-18 Lodestar, Vickers VC.1 Viking and Vickers Viscount, to name a few. South African Airways also boasted a strong fleet of aircraft from the Boeing family at one point in time. They had Boeing 707-300s, Boeing 737-800, Boeing 747-200F, Boeing 747SP, Boeing 767-200ER, Boeing 737-200, to name a few. However, they eventually wiped out their mixed fleet with Boeing to only accommodate Airbus.

Baggage Allowance

South African Airways' baggage allowance is the standard protocol that is followed by major airlines in the world. The business class passengers are allowed to carry two pieces of baggage in the checked luggage, and the weight per piece should not exceed more than 32 kg. As for the economy class passengers, the weight per piece of baggage should not be more than 23 kg. The airline only allows one piece of baggage for the economy class passengers. The dimension of the checked baggage is very important to South African Airways as it is essential to fit all the bags perfectly in the cargo. The total dimension of the baggage should not be more than 158 cm. As for hand baggage, the business class passengers are allowed to take two pieces of baggage along with them. The dimensions of the hand baggage should not be more than 56cm (l) 36cm (w) 23cm (h). As for the accessory bag that the airline does accommodate, the passenger will need to ensure that they fit under the front seat. These bags could be a handbag or a laptop bag. The economy class passengers must also adhere to the same dimensions of baggage, but they are only allowed to carry one piece instead of two. Both the cabin class passengers need to check that their baggage weight is not more than 8 kg.

In-flight services

South African Airways boasts some of the finest in-flight services and experiences. As the airline does have a good fleet with decent aircraft, the seating has been enhanced to cater to the comfort of the passengers. They can enjoy the plush leather seats which are equipped with good legroom and armrest. The international route aircraft owned by South African Airways also have personalised in-flight entertainment systems that have been installed in each seat for passengers. Further, the airline also has a trained and friendly staff on board who offer great help in terms of accommodating in-flight services such as ordering meals, requesting for blankets, pillows and other amenities. The meals that can be availed on board are quite exquisite with the menu boasting global cuisine. Passengers certainly have quite a comfortable experience when travelling with South African Airways.

Popular routes and top cities of South African Airways

South African Airways had an illustrious list of cities and destinations that it operated in from domestic routes and international routes. They had regular flights to international destinations such as Perth, Sydney, Vienna, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Accra, Athens, Milan, Rome, Osaka, Nairobi, Luxembourg City, Port Louis, Amsterdam, Lagos, Abuja, Mahe, Colombo, Zurich, Abu Dhabi, London, New York City, Lusaka, Harare and Victoria Falls, to name a few. However, they have shut down a majority of all their operations owing to the airline ceasing existence altogether. During its heydays, the airline's top cities and international routes were from Johannesburg to London, Hong Kong, Perth, Frankfurt and New York City. The airline's domestic routes were also quite strong as it held a good position in the domestic aviation market. However, following mergers, the airline gave away much of its domestic functions and operations to partners such as Mango, South African Express and Airlink.

Why travel by South African Airways?

South African Airways has followed a strong legacy ever since its inception. Over the years, the airline has further acquired the latest trends and facilities to ensure that their loyal customers and passengers receive the best treatment and services when flying with South African Airways. Aside from acquiring new international routes and domestic route connectivity, the airline has revamped its fleet to bring in aircraft that have better efficiency and possibilities to enable good in-flight services.

Some of the perks of South African Airways include the fact that they have allowed web check-ins as part of their services. Web check-ins make it easier for travellers as it reduces a lot of procedures that must otherwise be conducted at the airport's check-in counter. Simultaneously, the airline has also updated its website with the latest South African Airways flight schedule. Passengers can put details of their ticket to know the flight status as well as baggage allowance deals. Further, booking a South African Airways flight ticket on the airline's official website and other travel portals is quite convenient.