South African Airways (SAA) has added two aircraft to its fleet in the last two weeks, successfully growing its fleet size to 20 aircraft after taking delivery of two leased narrow-body Airbus A320s.
“This is a remarkable achievement considering that just over three years ago, the airline emerged from business rescue with just six aircraft,” South African Airways interim CEO, Professor John Lamola, said.
“Since 2021, the team at SAA has worked strategically and consistently to grow the fleet and route network sustainably. These additional aircraft will enable SAA to continue fulfilling our promise to add seat capacity in both the domestic and regional market and thereby contributing to the affordability of passenger air travel.”
South African Airways recently increased intercontinental flights to and from Perth – a popular destination given its large South African-born population – and offers other key African destinations, plus Mauritius.
The two leased narrow-body Airbus A320s, branded in South African Airways-branded livery, have arrived in Johannesburg from Ireland-based AerCap, the world’s No.1 aircraft leasing company. South African Airways’ relationship with AerCap is one proof of the recovery of the airline’s credit status with major international aviation finance institutions.
South African Airways is rolling out a plan of adding five aircraft to its fleet during this 2025 calendar year.
The global aviation industry is currently facing post-COVID supply chain crisis that has delayed new aircraft deliveries and increased the cost and scarcity of second-hand aircraft.
Besides the A320s, South African Airways’ 20-strong fleet comprises wide-body A330s and long-range A343s, which are well-suited for the two intercontinental routes that were relaunched last year – from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo and Perth and Cape Town to Sao Paulo.
“SAA’s fleet growth comes as the airline enters a phase of consolidation, increasing the frequency of flights to service an existing route network, to ensure South African leisure and business travellers enjoy more direct access to major African cities,” Prof. Lamola added. “In addition, SAA Cargo facilitates trade links between economic hubs across the continent and beyond.”
On 20 January, South African Airways launched a connection between Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg and is expanding flight frequency on its services to Harare (Zimbabwe) and Lusaka (Zambia) to 12 flights per week, up from 10 and seven flights a week, respectively.
Flights to Lagos (Nigeria) and Accra (Ghana) have been increased from three to four times a week, while South African Airways is now also flying to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) five times a week and began flying to the DRC’s mining hub, Lubumbashi, in November 2024.
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