South African Airways is set to resume services on two African routes in November.
In November 2024, South African Airways (SAA) will commence two additional routes from its hub in Johannesburg.
TWO SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS ROUTES
South African Airways will relaunch scheduled flights to Lubumbashi in the DRC, and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
However, the airline has yet to announce the schedule for the two services.
The added routes are made possible by the airline taking delivery of additional aircraft.
In fact, SAA currently operates 15 routes with 16 aircraft.
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
SAA’s Interim CEO John Lamola said in a press release that since resuming operations in 2021 (after exiting business rescue), the airline has indeed more than doubled its route network and tripled its fleet size.
“We are proud that between August 2022 and August 2024, we have grown the airline to 16 aircraft flying 15 routes, with a 400% growth in passenger revenues during that period. ” Lamola said.
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS REBUILDS AFRICAN ROUTES
South African Airways relaunched services in September 2021, first offering domestic services between Johannesburg and Cape Town.
From this restarted route, it has since returned to several destinations in Africa.
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INTERCONTINENTAL ROUTES
As well as its internal routes which currently include Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, SAA operates flights to 11 destinations outside of South Africa.
Late last year it relaunched flights to Sao Paulo in Brazil (from Johannesburg and Cape Town). In April this year, it also resumed scheduled flights to Perth in Australia.
“To date, we have reopened 11 outstations, including Mauritius, Perth in Australia, and São Paulo in Brazil. Post-Covid, our employment offering has expanded from 500 to around 1 200 staff, including 140 pilots.” Lamola said.
IMPROVED REVENUES
The SAA Group has experienced steady revenue growth since restarting operations in September 2021, albeit from a low base as the aviation industry was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the 2022/23 financial year, based on a fleet of six aircraft and six routes, SAA’s revenue grew by 96 percent. Revenue increased to ZAR5.6 billion from R2 billion the previous year.
For the 2023/24 financial year, the airline’s revenue has increased by 49% to R7.3 billion.
