SAA eNews | November 2011

Don't wait too long to book this exclusive offer. The sale is only valid until November 15th, and seats are selling out fast! With fares not seen in many years, there is really no reason not to visit Southern Africa. All-in fares, including all taxes and fees, start at $1,035 for travel from New York or Washington D.C. to Johannesburg. Get busy booking and start packing!

SAA continues to grow its route network on the African continent by adding service to destinations previously difficult to reach by air.

We recently launched a new flight to Ndola in Zambia. The route is served three times per week using an Airbus A319-100 aircraft. Ndola, Zambia's third-largest city and the country's commercial capital, is SAA's third destination in Zambia. SAA already offers twice-daily flights to Lusaka, and daily flights to Livingstone from Johannesburg.

To mark the first flight to Ndola, SAA introduced special fares and a double-miles promotion for our Voyager members when flying on SAA-operated aircraft.

Ndola Schedule:
SA096 - Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday
Johannesburg - Ndola 12H25 14H45

SA097 - Tueday, Thursday and Sunday
Ndola - Johannesburg 15H35 18H00

Effective 17 January, 2012, flights to Bujumbura in Burundi and Kigali in Rwanda will be added as well. Flights to both destinations have been finalized and are available for sale through our call center or www.flysaa.com

Kigali/Bujumbura Schedule:
SA088 - Tuesday, Friday and Sunday
Johannesburg - Kigali 13H00 17H00
Kigali - Bujumbura 17H50 18H40

SA089 - Monday, Wednesday and Saturday
Bujumbura - Kigali 07H50 08H45
Kigali - Johannesburg 09H35 13H35

Coming up, another planned destination is Cotonou in Benin with the launch date planned for February 2012.

Three distinct and unique itineraries focusing on Namibia - the Land of Wide Open Spaces - are on offer by SAA Vacations. 12-15 day packages are available to help you truly discover this great nation.

SAA has made booking your entire trip a one-click (well, almost) experience. Effective immediately, visitors to SAA's website can take advantage of specially negotiated rates at hotels and car rental agencies, as well as travel insurance companies to complete their online booking experience.

When booking your next SAA flight, pay close attention to your confirmation page at the end of the booking process and you will find hotels and car rental deals customized to your itinerary. A deal with online agency Expedia has made it possible for SAA to offer hotels in all price ranges, together with car rentals at your destination.

South African Airways (SAA) has partnered with famous South African chef Reuben Riffle, of the famed Reuben's restaurant in Franschoek in the Western Cape, to prepare some of his signature dishes for the airline's Premium Class customers.

Premium Class customers travelling on long-haul international routes, as well as on longer regional routes (into Africa) from Johannesburg or Cape Town will be able to enjoy his dishes starting this month.Chef Reuben's dishes will be identified by his signature next to each dish in the menu.

Reuben's food philosophy is that food doesn't have to be fancy and extravagant to be delicious. He burst onto the restaurant scene when still in his early 20s where he worked at Monneaux Restaurant where he quickly moved up the ranks from Assistant Sous Chef to Executive Chef. Monneaux was voted one of Eat Out's Top 10 restaurants for two consecutive years. From there he headed to Cambridge in England, to open Bruno's Brasserie with some friends. Bruno's received rave reviews and earned a loyal following of patron

In 2004 the lure of the Cape Winelands drew him back home to South Africa where he opened his Reuben's restaurant in Franschoek. Reuben's was an instant hit and within six months it won the prestigious Eat Out Johnnie Walker Restaurant of the Year Award. Reuben himself won the coveted title of Eat Out Johnnie Walker Chef of the Year. Reuben's was also voted one of Eat Out Johnnie Walker's Top 10 Restaurants in 2005 and 2006; and in 2007 Reuben Riffel won the invitation-only Unilever Chef of the Year title.

"SAA's collaboration with Reuben Riffel is just one of the initiatives we are currently working on to take food and beverage to greater heights while at the same time improving our on-board product offering," says Bongi (Tshazi) Sodladla, SAA's Food and Beverage Manager.

Did you know that most airlines offer 31" of legroom in Economy Class on long-haul international flights? And that most of them will charge an arm and a leg for premium seats which offer more space? Not so with SAA. On board our ultra-modern fleet of Airbus aircraft, every Economy Class passenger is able to enjoy 34" of legroom.

It may not seem like much, but those extra three inches of additional legroom will make all the difference in the world on a 16 hour flight. So stretch out, relax, and let SAA take you there.