'South African Airways (SAA)' is
South Africa's largest domestic and
international airline company, with hubs in
Cape Town and
Johannesburg. It is also known in
Afrikaans as 'Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens (SAL)', although this version of the name no longer appears on the airline's livery.
History
Formation
In
1934, an airline named
Union Airways was bought by South Africa's government, and renamed ''South African Airways'' on
1 February. The first cities served were
Cape Town,
Durban and
Johannesburg. The following year, also on 1 February, South African Airways took over South-West African Airways which had since
1932 been providing a weekly air-mail service between
Windhoek and
Kimberley.
In the
1930s SAA entered the international market with flights to
Kenya and
Uganda. The slow growth continued during the
1940s.
In
1945 SAA achieved a longtime company goal by operating a route to
Europe when an
Avro York landed in
Bournemouth,
England, after the long flight from
Palmietfontein near Johannesburg.
|
 A South African Airways Airbus A340-600. |
 A South African Airways Boeing 747 in the old livery. |
 South African Airways "new" Business Class on display at Zurich Kloten Airport, 11 Nov 2006 |
The jet age
The
1950s saw the advent of the jet age with the addition of the
Boeing 707 to the airline's fleet. In
1953 SAA made aviation history when it became the first airline outside UK to operate the world's first pure jetliner, the
De Havilland Comet, on lease from
BOAC. In November of
1957 the "Wallaby" service to
Perth,
Australia was added. SAA's first 707 landed in Europe in October
1960 with a nine-hour flight to
Athens. Two years later, SAA's jets would allow the airline to fly nonstop from South Africa into the UK and SAA's other
European destinations.
Johannesburg-
New York route, via
Rio de Janeiro, opened on February of
1969. Later in
1971, SAA added the
Boeing 747-200 'Jumbo Jet' to its fleet, followed in
1976 by the long range
747-SP and the
Airbus A300, and in
1983 by the
747-300 SUD, which provided first non-stop flights between Johannesburg and
London that same year.
Effect of apartheid
The next few years would be marked by steady but slower growth. Many countries refused to trade economically with South Africa, and this affected the airline. While many airlines were growing fast on the international market, SAA's growth rate was far behind most. Many African countries, except South Africa's neighbours, refused to let SAA use their airspace, but by then SAA had acquired a fleet of 'Special Performance' Boeing 747 SPs, reducing the need for stopovers.
A major development for the airline during the
1970s was the opening of a route to
Asia, with
Boeing 747 flights to
Hong Kong being launched. In
1980, when SAA began flights to
Taipei, South Africa became one of the few countries in the world at that time to recognize the
Republic of China government of
Taiwan.
Fiftieth anniversary
SAA celebrated its 50th anniversary in
1984. In this year the South African government made a controversial decision when it signed a treaty with
Somalia to give extensive military aid to the repressive regime of
Siad Barre in exchange for an exclusive contract to service Somali air travel. This turned out to be economically nonviable since few Somalis could afford airline tickets, and due to the incessant civil disorder in the country, few people wanted to go to Somalia.
SAA's services to
South America were cut back in
1985 because of lack of demand, with services to
Buenos Aires stopped, but those to
Rio de Janeiro continued.
Due to international condemnation of the
apartheid regime in the late 1980s, SAA itself faced hostility, with its offices being attacked. Its
London office was daubed with red paint, while in
Harare,
Zimbabwe its offices were badly damaged after protesters went on the rampage. In
1987, SAA's services to
Perth and
Sydney in
Australia were ended, in light of
Canberra's opposition to apartheid. On
November 28 of that year, tragedy struck the airline, when a 747, the ''Helderberg'' (
South African Airways flight 295) flying from Taipei to Johannesburg crashed into the
Indian Ocean, near
Mauritius, killing all passengers and crew.
During that year, the South African Airways Museum opened its doors to the public at
OR Tambo International Airport, which was then known as Jan Smuts International Airport (Johannesburg International Airport was renamed the OR Tambo International Airport in 2006.)
End of the 'pariah airline'
With the demise of apartheid, beginning in
1990, SAA was able to shake off its
pariah image, restoring services to old destinations, introducing services to new ones and expanding into the rest of
Africa, and into
Asia. June 1 of
1990 was also an important day for SAA, as South African companies signed a domestic air travel deregulation act. Later that year, SAA was chosen as the ''Best Airline to Africa'' by
London magazine
Executive Travel.
1991 saw the arrival of SAA's first Airbus
A320 jet, and its first Boeing 747-400 jet, nicknamed the ''Durban''. The airline resumed flights to
New York City's JFK International Airport for the first time since the
United States imposed economic sanctions on South Africa in
1986, and South African's planes were able to fly for the first time over
Egypt and
Sudan.
1992 saw South African enter the
Miami market (from Cape Town) by flying into
Miami International Airport, and re-enter
Australia. This year also saw code sharing agreements with
American Airlines and
Air Tanzania. That year also saw direct flights to
Southeast Asia including
Bangkok and
Singapore.
In
1993 the airline began services to
Manchester and
Hamburg, and a code sharing agreement was reached with
Brazil's
Varig.
In
1994, South African became a 25 percent owner of a company named Sax, and a feeder service (
SA Express) began flying domestically. This year saw the birth of the airline Alliance, which was a partnership between SAA,
Uganda Airlines and
Air Tanzania. Also South African greeted its passengers in four different languages during domestic flights:
English,
Zulu,
Afrikaans and
Sotho, while passengers on international flights were also greeted in the destination's local language. Nevertheless, this "Alliance" withered against intense competition from Kenya Airways (& affiliated Precision Air). The Tanzanian government i subsidising Air Tanzania while it disentagles the relationship with SAA.
In
1995,
Lufthansa started a code sharing agreement with SAA, and SAA commissioned
Herdbuoys Diefenbach Elkins to lead South African's change of image. This year, South African's Voyager and
American Airlines' AAdvantage frequent flier clubs joined together.
1996 saw flights to
Singapore discontinued, with
Bangkok becoming an
Asian hub for the airline, and South African
Olympic athletes were carried to
Atlanta aboard 747 ''Ndizani''. SAA won Executive Travel's best airline to Africa award for the third time.
Rebranding
In
1997, SAA introduced its new image and livery, dropping the
springbok emblem, and the old national colours of orange, white and blue. The new livery was based upon the new national flag, with a sun. The airline's name on its aircraft was changed to simply 'South African', with the
Afrikaans name ''Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens'' being dropped. The airline started online ticket sales and formed an alliance with
SA Airlink and
SA Express.
In
1998 services to Buenos Aires and
São Paulo's
Guarulhos Airport restored, services to
Copenhagen's
Kastrup Airport stopped, and a new airline President in the figure of
Coleman Andrews.
In
1999 South African and
Delta Air Lines started code sharing on flights from Atlanta to South Africa. Those flights took place on South African Airways planes.
2000 saw South African arrive at
Ft. Lauderdale's
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and order 21 more
Boeing 737s for its domestic routes.
In
2001, South African won the ''Best Cargo Airline to Africa'' award from
Air Cargo News - (even though South African is mostly a passenger airline) - and South African Airways signed a code sharing agreement with
Nigeria Airways, to provide service from the
United States to
Lagos, using South African 747s. (This code share agreement is no longer in effect, and SAA's flights to/from the United States no longer stop in Nigeria.) The airline earned a spot on the
Zagat Survey's top ten international airlines list, opened a new website and named
Andre Viljoen as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
In March
2002, under CEO Andre Viljoen, South African Airways asked
Airbus Industrie to overhaul its fleet at a cost of $3.5 billion. SAA ordered nine A340-600 widebodies, six A340-300s, 11 A319s and 15 A320 aircraft. Three of the
A340-600 aircraft came from International Lease Finance Corp. The new
Airbus A319s replaced the aging
Boeing 737-200 fleet, but the
Boeing 737-800's continue in service, because SAA canceled the A320 order before any aircraft were delivered.
In late
2002, South African Airways made a successful bid for a 49 per cent stake in
Air Tanzania. This was SAA's first acquisition of a foreign airline. The merger failed in 2006 when new SAA management felt that the arrangement was an unprofitable mistake made by previous SAA managers.
[1]
In March
2004 South African Airways announced its application to join
Star Alliance. The alliance accepted the application in June, with SAA joining as a full member in April 2006.
In July 2004, Andre Viljoen resigned as CEO of SAA, the media speculated he resigned due to the heavy losses SAA suffered in a R6-billion hedging loss.
In
2005, it became the first non-Saudi airline to fly a direct
Hadj service to
Medina in
Saudi Arabia.
In July 2005, SAA started 4 times weekly
Johannesburg-
Accra-
Washington, D.C. service with a Boeing 747-400. Service was increased to a daily service in July
2006, and the 747-400 was replaced by an Airbus A340-600. Also, because SAA could not obtain rights to fly passengers between Ghana and the US, the stop in Accra was replaced with a stop in
Dakar.
Accra will remain an SAA destination, however.
On June 6th, 2006, South African Airways' codeshare alliance with the US Airline,
Delta Air Lines, was terminated. South African's participation in the
Star Alliance caused tension between the airlines as it is a major competitor of Delta's
SkyTeam Alliance.
Alliance
On April 10, 2006, SAA formally joined
Star Alliance. SAA began code-share service with
United Airlines.
''South African Airways'' is an airline partner of
Skywards, the frequent flyer program for
Emirates and
Sri Lankan Airlines. Skywards members can earn miles for flying South African and can redeem miles for free flights.
Destinations
SAA operates routes to
São Paulo,
New York City,
Washington, D.C.,
London,
Frankfurt,
Paris,
Mumbai,
Hong Kong and
Perth, linking itself up with partners. Most international flights operate from
Johannesburg, the only international routes from
Cape Town are to
London and
Frankfurt. It also operates numerous local and regional routes.
In 2007, SAA was expected to begin routes to
Chicago,
Buenos Aires,
Munich,
Libreville and
Kilimanjaro. As of March 2007, however, SAA began a large-scale restructuring process. Part of this process involves re-evaluating all routes (proposed and existing).
[2]. The proposed Chicago route was put on indefinite hold in March 2007.
[3] Flights to/from Buenos Aires and Libreville no longer appear in SAA's reservation system, calling these proposed routes into question. Flights to Munich and Kilimanjaro, however, appear in the reservation system, and will go ahead as planned.
[4]
Cargo
South African Cargo is the airlines freight branch they operate cargo services with a 737-200F to domestic and regional destinations.
Fleet
Passenger Fleet
The South African Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft as of March 2007:
'South African Airways Fleet'| Aircraft | Total | Passengers
(First
★ /Business/Economy) | Routes | Notes |
|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 11 | 120 (25/95) | Short-medium haul
Domestic and Regional | |
| Airbus A340-200 | 6 | 250 (24/226) | Long haul
Australia, Europe, India
and South America | |
| Airbus A340-300 | 6 | 253 (38/215) | Long haul
Australia, Europe,
North America and South America | |
| Airbus A340-600 | 9 | 317 (42/275) | Ultra-Long haul
North America and South East Asia, and Europe | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 17 | 157 (32/125) | Short-medium haul
Domestic and Regional | |
| Boeing 747-400 | 6 | 331 (11/35/285)
335 (11/39/285)
337 (10/39/288) | Long haul
London Heathrow, Luanda & Lagos | Exit from service: 2007 |
| Total number of aircraft | 55 | Updated: August 2007 [1] | |
|---|
★ First Class is only offered on Boeing 747-400 aircraft.
Cargo Fleet
'South African Airways Cargo Fleet'| Aircraft | Total | Capacity
(Weight) | Routes | Notes |
|---|
| Boeing 737-200F | 1 | 20 tons | Short haul
Domestic and Regional | |
| Boeing 737-300QC | 2 | | " | Planned to add |
South African Airways has long been known for its naming of aircraft. Various models eg.
B707,
B727,
B737-200,
B747, were named after geographical phenomena in South Africa, such as rivers, cities, towns and mountain ranges. In recent years however, all the new aircraft which SAA has acquired have not been named. The only aircraft with names, which remain in the SAA fleet, are the
Boeing 747-400s. However, there are two B747-400 (ZS-SBS and ZS-SBK) that do not have names.
In June 2007, SAA confirmed earlier speculation
[5] that the airline's restructuring plan means there will be no new aircraft purchased for an unspecified time period.
[6] [7]
Additionally, it was announced that SAA's six remaining 747-400s will be pulled from the fleet
[8], meaning that the airline will no longer operate any variant of the 747. In 2006, two 747-400s, delivered in 1990 and 1991 (ZS-SAV "Durban" and ZS-SAW "Bloemfontein"), were sold to
Cathay Pacific Airways and converted to B747-400BCF or Boeing Converted Freighters. Cathay values these B747-444 as they have the same
Rolls-Royce RB211-524 engines as Cathay's passenger fleet, making maintenance much faster and cheaper than if the freighter used
General Electric or
Pratt & Whitney engines.
The average age of South African Airways fleet is 7 years in February 2007.
Incidents
South African Airways Accidents
Junkers JU52, ZS-AKY, 16 June 1937. Aircraft crashed on take-off at Port Elizabeth Airport following engine failure in two engines. Aircraft consumed by fire but all aboard escaped. This was first accident in which passenger injury took place. (Source: "A Firm resolve" A History of SAA Accidents and Incidents 1934-1987 by Mark D Young. Published May 2007 by laminar Publishing Associates, South Africa.)
Lockheed 18 Lodestar, ZS-AST
28 March 1941,
Elands Bay,
South Africa. All aboard killed on impact and/or postcrash fire. (Reference: ''A Firm Resolve'' - A History of SAA Accidents and Incidents 1934-1987 by Mark D Young. Published May 2007 by Laminar Publishing Associates, South Africa.)
[2]
Lockheed Lodestar 18, ZS-ASW, 5 th January 1948. Aircraft ran off end of runway at Palmietfontein after landing deep. Undercarriage ripped-off and hull damaged beyond repair. Light injuries to passengers but no fatalities. (Source: "A Firm resolve" - A History of SAA accidents 1934-1987 by Mark D Young.)
Douglas DC-3,ZS-DJC flight SA512
6 March 1962, Vicinity
Seymour,
Eastern Cape,
South Africa. Aircraft crashed into mountainside after pilot insisted on conducting flight as VFR while flying below low cloud above rising ground. Pilot and First Officer killed, passengers and cabin staff survived. (reference: ''A Firm Resolve'' - A History of SAA Accidents and Incidents 1934-1987 by Mark D Young.)
[2]
Vickers Viscount 818,
13 March 1967, Vicinity
East London,
Eastern Cape,
South Africa. Aircraft crashed into sea 1.5 miles offshore while approaching to land during bad weather. No definitive cause found by investigators due to inability to retrieve or photo map wreckage. Flight number was SA406. All aboard killed. (Reference: A Firm Resolve - A History of SAA Accidents and Incidents 1934-1987 by Mark D Young.)
[2]
Boeing 707-344C,
20 April 1968, Near
Windhoek,
South West Africa (Now
Namibia). Aircraft was 6 weeks old. Crew used flap retraction sequence from 707-B series which removed flaps in larger increments than desirable for that stage of the flight which led to loss of lift at 600 ft AGL. Subsequennt descent went undetected by crew leading to impact with ground. Flight number SA228. Casualties totalled 119 dead.(Reference: ''A Firm Resolve'' - A History of SAA Accidents and Incidents 1934-1987 by Mark D Young.)
[2]
South African Airways Flight 201
On
8 April 1954, Flight 201 departed
Rome for
Cairo and
Johannesburg. The flight was used with a leased
British Overseas Airways Corporation De Havilland Comet. The aircraft crashed off the coast of Italy killing all 21 people onboard. Along with
BOAC Flight 781, it was one of two Comet crashes caused by a flaw in the design.
South African Airways Flight 295
On
28 November 1987, South African Flight 295, a Boeing 747-244B Combi '' the Helderberg'' crashed over the Indian Ocean. It was en-route from
Taipei,
Taiwan to
Johannesburg via
Mauritius. This followed after a fire in the main cargo hold; all 159 people on board were killed.
South African Airways Flight 322
On
17 June 2006 South African Flight 322, a Boeing 737-800 underwent an attempted hijacking by a 21-year-old Zimbabwean, who took an air hostess hostage in attempt to enter the aircraft's cockpit and divert the plane to
Maputo,
Mozambique. He was subdued before entering the cockpit on the flight en-route from
Cape Town to
Johannesburg, the pilots of SAA Flight 322 had been monitoring the incident via CCTV and the plane was turned back to Cape Town where a police task force stormed the aircraft and arrested the suspect.
Anti-competitive practices
On 5 June 2007, it was announced that SAA paid ZAR 55 million to the South African government's Competition Commission. The penalty was imposed because of anticompetitive behaviour such as price-fixing. This fine was in addition to a ZAR 45 million fine paid by SAA on 31 May 2006 as a penalty for SAA's attempts to prevent travel agents from dealing with rival air carriers.
[9]
References
1. South African Airways Website
2. Plane Crash Info, compilation from primary sources
3. Plane Crash Info, compilation from primary sources
4. Plane Crash Info, compilation from primary sources
5. Plane Crash Info, compilation from primary sources
External links
★
South African Airways
★ http://www.springbokradio.com/SAA.html
★
South African Airways Fleet Age
★
Africaspotter - recent photos and news of SAA
★
Fleet
★
Airbus.com outstanding orders
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
