South African Airways

JOHANNESBURG. 24 December 2019. South African Airways (SAA) today operated its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft for the first time commercially in the domestic market.

The aircraft departed from Johannesburg to Cape Town after 10 this morning, operating as flight SA323, and returned as flight SA336 from Cape Town to Johannesburg and landed at approximately 4PM.   

The aircraft is one of four new Airbus A350-900 jets in SAA’s fleet, which is set to improve the airline’s customer offering and commercial prospects.

“We are pleased to offer our customers a superior customer experience with the commercial introduction of the new Airbus A350 aircraft, which offers the quietest cabin of any twin-aisle aircraft,” says Zuks Ramasia, SAA’s Acting CEO.

The introduction of the A350s will contribute to the airline’s operational efficiencies and forms part of fleet renewal to enable SAA to compete and serve its customers better through the introduction of new products.

As additional aircraft are introduced, more routes will be operated by the Airbus A350-900s, such as SAA’s ultra-long haul routes between Johannesburg and New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The A350 will replace the Airbus A340-600 and will still operate Johannesburg – New York on a nonstop basis.

Business and Economy Class customers will enjoy the quieter cabin, a more relaxing environment during flight. The Airbus A350-900 is configured with a maximum of 339 seats, of which 30 are Business Class seats and 309 are Economy Class seats, with the first six rows in Economy Class offering extra legroom to provide a more comfortable experience, especially on longer flights. The Business Class cabin has lie flat beds.

The aircraft also offers a modern In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system throughout the cabin. SAA will operate the aircraft for three years.

The commonality and common type rating between the Airbus A350-900 XWB powered aircraft and the other Airbus aircraft in SAA’s fleet translate directly into cost saving for training pilots, crew, engineers and technicians as well as for spares inventory.

The A350-900 XWB has excellent range/payload performance on long-haul flights departing from Johannesburg (the hot-and-high consideration). SAA will achieve approximately 25% lower operating costs (cash) using the A350-900 XWB, over a 5-year period, compared with some of its four-engine aircraft generation that have similar range and payload capabilities. 

SAA will also achieve approximately 25% savings in fuel consumption and emissions. Besides lower operating costs, it will also reduce SAA’s exposure to South Africa’s recently imposed Carbon Tax because it is more environmentally friendly and helps it achieve global emissions offset mechanism targets, for international aviation requirements.

The airline will also benefit from the approximately 40% lower costs for maintaining the A350-900 XWB’s airframe over a 5-year period -  that is, the aircraft excluding the engines, compared with some of its four-engine aircraft generation it will replace on the Johannesburg-New York-Johannesburg and other routes.

The aircraft are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Since entering service in 2015, the Trent XWB engines have flown more than five million hours and are regarded as the world’s most efficient large aero-engine.

-ENDS-

ISSUED BY SAA

For Media Enquiries, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 22 December 2020. South African Airways (SAA) has joined the fight against the illegal trade in wildlife through the Illegal Wildlife Trade module of the IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) Programme.

IEnvA is a comprehensive environmental management system that SAA uses to ensure that the airline is as environmentally sustainable as possible. IEnvA is an equivalent of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) but for the environment rather than safety. SAA is audited, much like IOSA, and certified as IEnvA compliant. SAA attained IEnvA Stage 2 certification in March 2015. 

SAA is being audited during the course of December 2019 to ensure that the correct systems and procedures are in place and that SAA is committed to the fight against the illegal wildlife trade after which SAA will be certified. We do this as part of our role in biodiversity economy and demand management to halt illegal wildlife trade while supporting responsible sourced wildlife that sustains local communities.

SAA is also a signatory to the Buckingham Palace Declaration of the United for Wildlife initiative. United for Wildlife works to tackle illegal wildlife trade by bringing together conservation organisations, governments, and global corporations. Led by The Duke of Cambridge and The Royal Foundation, United for Wildlife is working to protect endangered species like elephants, rhinos, tigers, and pangolins so they can share our world with future generations. 

“We can all do our part to stop this scourge that subjects our wildlife to cruel methods of smuggling or to death at the hands of poachers. SAA is committed to making a difference and protecting our wildlife,” says Zuks Ramasia, SAA Acting CEO.

South Africa’s wildlife is one of the most treasured natural assets and is a drawcard for tourism to South Africa and as the national carrier; we are doing our part to protect that heritage. SAA will be increasing awareness, training and co-operation with law enforcement. Over the course of the next year, all employees will have the opportunity to get involved and be trained in methods to detect these smugglers and their activities and to report these to the relevant authorities.

-ENDS- 

ISSUED BY SAA
For Media Enquiries , please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Please click here to view the media statement.

JOHANNESBURG. 6 December 2019. The Board of Directors of South African Airways (SAA) has announced that the notice of commencement of business rescue proceedings was filed with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) on 5 December 2019, as per Chapter 6 of the Companies Act 2008 (Act 71 of 2008).

The company is officially in business rescue.

The CIPC has processed the appointment of the business rescue practitioner, Mr Les Matuson from Matuson Associates in South African Airways' voluntary business rescue process.

ISSUED BY SAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

JOHANNESBURG, 5 December 2019. South African Airways (SAA) is today in a position to announce that the Board of Directors of SAA has adopted a resolution to place the company into business rescue at the earliest opportunity.

As previously announced, the SAA Board of Directors and the Executive Committee have been in consultations with the shareholder, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), in an effort to find a solution to our company’s well-documented financial challenges.

The considered and unanimous conclusion has been to place the company into business rescue in order to create a better return for the company’s creditors and shareholders, than would result from any other available solution.

Furthermore, the company is seeking to minimize the destruction of value across its subsidiaries and provide the best prospects for selected activities within the group to continue operating successfully.

SAA understands that this decision presents many challenges and uncertainties for its staff. The company will engage in targeted communication and support for all employee groups at this difficult time.

SAA will endeavour to operate a new provisional timetable and will publish details shortly. The company greatly appreciates the continued support of both its customers and partners in the travel industry around the world.

The Board of Directors will also announce the appointment of business practitioners in the near future, and provide media updates as and when appropriate.

It is important to point out that services operated by SAA’s subsidiary airline, Mango, will continue as usual and as scheduled.

ISSUED BY SAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

For Media Enquiries, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

JOHANNESBURG. 28 November 2019. South African Airways (SAA) and its wholly-owned subsidiary and low cost carrier, Mango Airlines, made history in 2016 as the first two airlines in Africa to operate commercial flights respectively, which were powered by sustainable aviation fuel produced from Sunchem’s nicotine-free tobacco plant, Solaris.

That momentous occasion demonstrated it is possible to use a locally produced feedstock to manufacture bio-jet fuel for commercial aviation that meets all necessary sustainability criteria required by the international and multi-stakeholder organisation on biomaterial production and processing, Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). This approach has been endorsed by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and NGOs globally as the strongest sustainability standard for biofuels.

Today marks the launch of Project Reya Fofa, the follow up to Project Solaris.  

The project will introduce Solaris-based biodiesel into the ground-handling operations at O.R .Tambo International Airport.  This will support a feasible scale-up of feedstock production and infrastructure such that a fully localised value chain for a Hydro-treated Vegetable Oil (HVO) refinery may be achieved in the coming years, producing bio-jet fuel and green diesel. The next phase will be rolled out in a collaboration between Sunchem, Swissport, The Royal Bafokeng Nation (through implementing entity Moumo Integrated Development) and iLive. This is endorsed by South African Airways (SAA).

Aviation currently contributes 2-2.5% to worldwide CO2 emissions (the equivalent of Canada). Whilst compared to other industries this may not appear exorbitant, the fast growth in air traffic and the related increase in jet fuel consumption means that by 2050 global aviation could account for over 22% of all CO2 emissions. As such, the reduction of aviation’s emissions is a critical component of global climate mitigation action aimed at limiting warming to 1.5 °C.

SAA is fully committed to sustainable environmental transformation whilst supporting the creation of employment and new industries in South Africa, with the ultimate goal of blending 50% of its fuel with locally and environmentally sustainably produced biofuel. SAA is steadfast in working to become the leading African airline to operate bio-fuel powered flights on a sustainable basis in, and to markets on the African continent.

Beyond the climate and other environmental benefits of sustainable bio-fuel, a localised supply chain will have immense transformative power in terms of job creation, rural socio-economic development and macro-economic impacts such as a positive contribution to the Balance of Payments, minimised risk of foreign exchange exposure, tax revenues, and skills transfers.

The project partners are committed to achieving RSB certification for the project, ensuring that it delivers on real social, environmental and climate benefits. RSB certification will demonstrate that locally produced bio-fuel can support food security, job creation, biodiversity and much more. This will showcase the potential of the South African bio-economy to the world.

Scaling the cultivation of feedstock to reach the desired level of production of bio-jet fuel requires a roadmap that is based on an organic increase in land under cultivation and outlines the related investment and policy support required to develop large-scale local bio-fuel supply chains.

Sunchem is committed to bringing its Solaris crop to Africa to support the African energy transition. Furthermore, Sunchem was Africa’s first RSB certified company therefore ensuring the highest standards in sustainable production. Sunchem actively engages throughout the value chain as the project integrator.

Given Swissport’s goal to promote environmental responsibility in their services and encourage the development and application of environmentally conscious technologies, they have come alongside SAA to support the uptake of biodiesel from the Solaris project. It serves to put their environmental commitments into practice in South Africa whilst supporting SAA in beginning to transform their fuel supply at O.R. Tambo International Airport to be more sustainable and localised.

Reya Fofa is Setswana and Sesotho for “We are flying” and demonstrates the vision of the project to be inclusive and transformative.

The vision of Project Reya Fofa is truly a circular one – protein and fiber are other major co-products of the crop and as such, the project partners are working to include these into the catering and textile requirements of the aviation sector. This is also in line with SAA’s commitment to transform all its supply chains to be more sustainable.

ENDS-

ISSUED BY SAA

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

CAPE TOWN. 27 November 2019 – South African Airways (SAA) received permission today from the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) to have their appearance deferred.

Nevertheless, members of the SAA Board and Executive Committee, arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday, 27 November, in time to present a comprehensive report to SCOPA on the state of the airline at the originally scheduled time of 18h00. The permission to defer the meeting had not been received at the time the SAA team departed from Johannesburg.

Given the significant and ongoing developments in respect of the sustainability of the airline, SAA welcomes the deferment of their appearance at SCOPA. This will enable further urgent engagement with all relevant role players on the support initiatives being developed under the direction of the shareholder.

Arrangements are being finalised for SCOPA to visit SAA next week. All information requested has been submitted to the shareholder. SAA refutes any suggestion that it has not cooperated fully with Parliament.

ISSUED BY SAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

-ENDS-

ISSUED BY SAA

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 22 November 2019 – South African Airways (SAA) is pleased to announce that the airline will be restoring a full flight schedule in stages over the weekend. 
This process has been made possible following the agreement reached to resolve the ongoing industrial dispute between SAA and the coalition between the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and the South African Airways Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) unions.
In practical terms, this means that SAA will operate a near normal service on Saturday 23 November 2019. Whilst there will be selected cancellations, principally on the domestic network and on a small number of regional flights, the airline expects to be able to provide service to all customers.  Any customers requiring re-accommodation on a rescheduled service or on another airline will be contacted accordingly or assisted at their departure airport.
On Sunday, 24 November 2019, SAA expects to operate its full schedule as usual. This means that SAA will operate services as usual on all three of its networks: domestic, regional (points on the African Continent) and international.
“We are delighted to be able to announce a resumption in normal schedules. On behalf of SAA, I would like to express our deep regret at the inconvenience caused to our loyal customers during this industrial dispute. We will continue to assist those passengers, that have still not been able to travel, to reach their intended destination as soon as possible,” said Philip Saunders, SAA’s Chief Commercial Officer.
“At the same time, I would like to express our commitment to return to the skies with renewed passion and energy to serve all our customers. We also thank our airline partners, Mango, Airlink and SA Express, for assisting us during this difficult period,” Saunders added.
Customers holding a confirmed itinerary may proceed to their departure airport as usual. In line with standard practice, SAA recommends its customers to visit www.flysaa.com for all further flight updates. 
[End] 

ISSUED BY SAA

Media to contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG, 21 November 2019 – South African Airways (SAA) is today announcing the suspension of all services between Johannesburg and Hong Kong from Saturday, 23 November until and including, 14 December 2019. 

This decision has been taken to curb significant financial losses incurred on the route, exacerbated recently by the ongoing political tensions in Hong Kong,

“The decision to suspend services to Hong Kong is regrettable, but necessitated by the current downturn in business due to the developing challenges in the region. By suspending these flights, we can concentrate on resuming more regional services at the earliest opportunity and make better use of all our resources,” said Philip Saunders, SAA’s Chief Commercial Officer.

SAA will be implementing a re-accommodation policy for customers booked on services to and from Hong Kong, and will be in contact with customers at the earliest opportunity. At present, the airline operates four services every week between Johannesburg and Hong Kong. 

In recent months, several airlines have announced reductions in services and capacity to Hong Kong. These include the home-based carrier Cathay Pacific, as well as Air China, Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, United Airlines and others. The impact of these reduced operations is further reinforced by a year-on-year decline of 13% in passenger volumes recorded at Hong Kong International Airport in October 2019.

A further announcement relating to the resumption of further selected regional services will be made in a separate press release to be issued today.

[END]

ISSUED BY SAA

Media to contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 20 November 2019 – South African Airways (SAA) is pleased to announce its intention to resume selected flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban and Victoria Falls, with effect from Thursday, 21 November 2019. 

SAA is continuing to operate all international flights on an ongoing basis and without disruption. The airline is now also successfully operating services to six destinations on the African continent, namely Accra, Lagos, Lusaka, Maputo, Windhoek and Harare on an ongoing basis.

SAA would like to record its appreciation for those staff deciding to work despite receiving threats and intimidation from the unions. It is clear that SAA’s people are increasingly determined to put our customers first.  

“We are pleased that SAA is now able to increase services and to offer our customers more flights on Domestic and on the African continent and that all our International flights are back on schedule. It is also important to assure SAA’s customers that our operations are safe and that the airline will never compromise on this core responsibility,” said Philip Saunders, SAA’s Chief Commercial Officer.

Customers travelling on SAA’s Regional network to Victoria Falls, Cape Town and Durban will be rebooked on the reinstated services and contacted accordingly. 

SAA will seek to rebook customers travelling on other Regional routes (points on the African Continent) wherever possible.

SAA is continuing to work with its partner airlines, Mango and SA Airlink, to re-book all customers travelling on domestic services for Thursday 21 November 2019 and Friday 22 November 2019.

“Once again, we apologise to all our passengers for all the inconvenience caused. We are continuing discussions with labour and remain committed to reach a prompt resolution in the best interests of all parties,” Saunders said. 

Customers are requested not to travel to their departure airport unless they are in possession of a rebooked itinerary.

Customers seeking a refund or wishing to rebook their travel on a future SAA service have until 30 November 2019 to finalise their arrangements.

For any further information or guidance, then please visit flysaa.com or call our contact centre on   0861 606 606 or 011 978 1111 
-Ends- 

ISSUED BY SAA

Media to contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Customers to contact:
Call Centre: 0861 606 606 or 011 978 1111. 
Operating Hours: 06:00 AM to 22:00 PM, South African time. Call rates are low between 09:00PM and 10:00PM South African time.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Customers seeking a refund or wishing to rebook their travel on a future SAA service have until 30 November 2019 to finalise their arrangements. Visit www.flysaa.com for the latest information.

General Enquiries:
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Please click HERE to view the media statement

JOHANNESBURG, 19 November 2019 – With all international and some regional flights back in operation, and domestic services carried out by sister airline Mango, South African Airways (SAA) is on the road to operational recovery. 

“We thank SAA employees who are back at work and those employees who have not joined the industrial action. They continue to carry our flag around the world. We also thank our loyal customers for supporting us in this difficult time”, said SAA Acting CEO, Zuks Ramasia.   

“We applaud our committed employees for understanding that the airline cannot afford salary increases at present, because of the financial difficulties we are facing. The National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) and South African Airways Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) are demanding a wage increase of 8%, whilst the company will only be in a position to pay 5.9% in March 2020, assuming funds are available at that time. We call on all our employees to return to work for the sake of our customers and the company. After all, our customers contribute to our salaries and it is only through their confidence and custom that we can secure the future for SAA and ensure our essential contribution to the country’s economy. We are also very mindful of the contribution made by taxpayers to our sustainability,” said Ramasia.

Today, Ramasia and her executives have given the media an update on the strike by members of SACCA and NUMSA. In the media conference, SAA management explained the state of negotiations with unions, the ’no-work, no-pay’ principle; and confirmed SAA’s continued commitment to safety.

“SAA would like to record its appreciation to those employees that have decided to return to work, despite receiving threats and intimidation from the unions. It is clear and encouraging that many of our employees are increasingly determined to put our customers first,” said Ramasia.

All flights to the airline’s eight international destinations are now operating as usual and on an ongoing basis.  

Today SAA is resuming flights to six destinations on the African continent, namely Accra, Lagos, Lusaka, Maputo, Windhoek and Harare. 

Customers travelling to these destinations are being rebooked on the reinstated services and are being contacted accordingly. 

DOMESTIC AND REGIONAL ROUTES

SAA is continuing to work with its partner airline Mango to re-book all customers travelling on domestic routes. 

“We are pleased that we have been able to offer our customers alternatives on domestic routes since Sunday. In the meantime, we thank our subsidiary airline, Mango, and partner airlines, Airlink, and SA Express, for doing a sterling job in supporting our domestic and regional networks. Once again, we regret the inconvenience caused to our valued customers,” said Ramasia.

SAA will continue to work hard to focus on gradually ramping up our regional and domestic services. The next announcement in this regard will be made later today.

OPERATIONAL SAFETY

As previously mentioned our operations are fully compliant with regulations in force. Furthermore, we acknowledge the confirmation by the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) that our operations are safe and fully compliant with international safety standards. 

Safety is our primary responsibility. SAA has never - and will never - compromise safety under any circumstances. 

The statements made by SACCA and NUMSA are deeply regrettable, untruthful and without foundation. In response, SAA is taking appropriate legal action for these statements to be retracted.

“Our flight deck, cabin crew and technicians are highly qualified. For example, on the international flights operated by SAA on Sunday, each member of our cabin crew team had an average of 16 years’ experience, and each pilot on the flight deck had an average of 20 years’ experience.’

STATUS OF ONGOING INDUSTRIAL ACTION 

A growing number of our employees do not support the strike. Ever more workers are coming back to work, and this is evidenced by the increasing number of flights we are operating.

“SAA strongly condemns the intimidation of employees who have decided to report for work. Let us be clear: describing some of our employees as “traitors” and threatening that “we know where you are” are flagrant methods of intimidation -  and will not be tolerated by SAA.” said Ramasia.  

Participating in industrial action is a personal choice. Unfortunately, there have been several incidents relating to intimidation against staff, as well as attempted non-compliance of picketing rules.  

No one should ever be pressured by any union official or member to participate in this industrial action. The airline will not tolerate any form of intimidation against those wishing to report for duty, and is taking the necessary measures to protect them in the workplace.

The Trade Unions in dispute with SAA have added additional demands, which are not part of the conflict. 

The company has decided to approach the labour court on an urgent basis to interdict these demands, which are not procedural and also to address the non-compliance with picketing rules.

THE PERSONAL COST OF STRIKING

The strike comes at a personal cost to employees.  With SAA’s “no-work-no-pay” principle, the salary loss for a striking employee embarking on strike action for seven days will take him or her approximately four months to recover. This is calculated on the basis of a 5.9% salary increase, implemented against the total cost of employment.

COST OF THE INDUSTRIAL ACTION

The cost to the company of industrial action consists of many elements. These include the costs related to rebooking customers on other airlines, claims from customers, denied boarding compensation, lost average daily revenue, lost future sales, aircraft parking, SAA Cargo revenue losses, and salaries for pilots and cabin crew who are not on strike. The cost of the reputational damage to the company is immeasurable. 

STATUS OF NEGOTIATIONS

The conciliation process with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will be reconvened shortly to mediate in the current deadlock between unions and management is ongoing. 

Our efforts are focused on finding solutions that recognise employees’ concerns, safeguard the business and return operations to normal without delay. 

[END]

ISSUED BY SAA

Media to contact:

SAA Spokesperson

Mr Tlali Tlali 

Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Customers to contact:

Call Centre: 0861 606 606 or 011 978 1111. 

Operating Hours: 06:00 AM to 22:00 PM, South African time. Call rates are low between 09:00PM and 10:00PM South African time.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Customers seeking a refund or wishing to rebook their travel on a future SAA service have until 30 November 2019 to finalise their arrangements. Visit www.flysaa.com for the latest information.

General Enquiries:
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 18 November 2019 – South African Airways (SAA) is pleased to announce its intention to resume flights to six destinations on the African continent, namely Accra, Lagos, Lusaka, Maputo, Windhoek and Harare, with effect from Tuesday, 19 November 2019. 

This is in addition to all SAA’s International flights,   which are now fully operational. SAA would like to record its appreciation for those staff deciding to work despite receiving threats and intimidation from the unions. It is clear that SAA’s people are increasingly determined to put our customers first.  

“We are pleased that SAA is now able to increase services and to offer our customers more flights on the African continent, and that all our International flights are back on schedule. It is also important to assure SAA’s customers that our operations are safe and that the airline will never compromise on this core responsibility,” said Philip Saunders, SAA’s Chief Commercial Officer.

Customers booked to travel on SAA’s international services will now be able to travel as booked. 

Customers travelling on SAA’s regional network to Accra, Lagos, Lusaka, Maputo, Windhoek and Harare will be rebooked on the reinstated services and contacted accordingly. 

SAA will seek to rebook customers travelling on other regional routes (points on the African Continent) wherever possible.

SAA is continuing to work with its partner airlines, Mango and SA Airlink, to re-book all customers travelling on domestic services for Tuesday 19 November 2019 and Wednesday 20 November 2019.

“Once again, we apologise to all our passengers for all the inconvenience caused. We are continuing discussions with labour and remain committed to reach a prompt resolution in the best interests of all parties,” Saunders said. 

Customers are requested not to travel to their departure airport unless they are in possession of a rebooked itinerary.

Customers seeking a refund or wishing to rebook their travel on a future SAA service have until 30 November 2019 to finalise their arrangements.

For any further information or guidance, then please visit flysaa.com or call our contact centre  on   0861 606 606 or 011 978 1111 
-Ends- 

ISSUED BY SAA

Media to contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:

Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 17 November 2019 - A South African Airways (SAA) flight to São Paulo, Brazil, took off on Sunday as the airline began reinstating international flights.

“We are pleased that SAA 222 from OR Tambo International Airport to São Paulo, which was scheduled to operate on Sunday morning, is now airborne en route to Brazil. The return flight from São Paulo to OR Tambo International Airport is expected to operate as scheduled and arrive back in Johannesburg on Monday morning,” said Tlali Tlali, SAA’s Spokesperson.

Tlali said the other five international departures from OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday 17 November 2019, were flights to New York, London, Frankfurt, Munich and Washington DC via Accra.

The first departures from OR Tambo International Airport to Perth and Hong Kong are expected to operate as scheduled from Monday, 18 November 2019.                           

SAA’s departures from its international stations on Monday, 18 November 2019 include: London, New York, Washington DC (via Accra), Munich and Frankfurt to OR Tambo International Airport, are expected to arrive on Tuesday, 19 November 2019.

Passengers are advised to report to their departure airport as normal when in possession of a confirmed itinerary.

SAA’s domestic and regional flights remain cancelled.

SAA has been working with its subsidiary airline, Mango, and sister airline, SA Express, to re-accommodate as many customers as possible travelling on domestic services. Depending on availability, customers traveling to regional destinations are being re-accommodated on SA Airlink, a partner airline of SAA, and other airlines where possible.

South African Airways apologises to all its valued customers for the inconvenience and frustration caused by the cancellation of flights as a result of ongoing industrial action by the South African Cabin Crew Association and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa. 

“We hope all our customers understand that the cancellations were beyond our control.  We pledged to rebook all passengers caught up in the flight cancellations. We are working hard towards this goal and we are pleased to resume flights to all our international destinations,” Tlali said.

Customers seeking a refund or wishing to rebook their travel on a future SAA service have until 30 November 2019 to finalise their arrangements.

-Ends-

ISSUED BY SAA

Media to contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Customers to contact:

Call Centre: 0861 606 606 or 011 978 1111.

Operating Hours: 06:00 AM to midnight, South African time. Call rates are low between 09:00PM and midnight South African time.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Customers seeking a refund or wishing to rebook their travel on a future SAA service have until 30 November 2019 to finalise their arrangements. Visit www.flysaa.com for the latest information.

General Enquiries:

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 17 November 2019 - South African Airways (SAA) will reinstate international flights to seven international destinations from Sunday night – November 17 - and has advised passengers to report to their departure airport as normal when in possession of a rebooked itinerary.

“On behalf of South African Airways, I wish to apologise to all our passengers for the inconvenience and frustration caused by the cancellation of flights as a result of ongoing industrial action by the South African Cabin Crew Association and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa.  Our passengers deserve a smooth and a convenient service when they fly with South African Airways,” said SAA Chief Commercial Officer, Philip Saunders.

SAA took a decision to reinstate international service on its route network after assessment of its personnel numbers who are available and willing to operate the flights. Whilst some employees are on strike and have elected to do so in exercising their rights, the airline has a duty to render services to its customers where it has employees who have elected to report for work. All employees have rights protected in law on both sides of the divide.  

“We hope all our customers understand that the cancellations were beyond our control.  We pledged to rebook all passengers caught up in the flight cancellations. We are working hard towards this goal and we are pleased to resume flights to all our international destinations,” Saunders said.

The seven destinations are New York, Sao Paulo, London, Frankfurt, Munich and Washington via Accra. Flights will depart from OR Tambo International Airport.

Customers are requested not to travel to their departure airport unless in possession of a rebooked itinerary.

SAA has been working with its sister airline, Mango, to re-accommodate as many customers as possible travelling on domestic services.

Depending on availability, customers traveling to regional destinations are being re-accommodated on Airlink, a partner airline of SAA, and other airlines where possible.

Customers seeking a refund or wishing to rebook their travel on a future SAA service have until 30 November 2019 to finalise their arrangements.

-Ends-

ISSUED BY SAA

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service

Ms Bali Mabena

Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146

Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG, 16 November 2019 – South African Airways (SAA) has approached the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to conciliate in the salary increment impasse at the national carrier.
“We are happy that the Unions have embraced our proposal for a commissioner to facilitate discussions aimed at resolving our differences. The mediation will begin on Saturday morning,” said Martin Kemp, SAA Acting General Manager for Human Resources.
“We recognise SAA and its employee’s contribution to our country’s economic growth, specifically in the context of outbound and inbound tourism. It is in the public interest that this dispute be resolved. The union’s willingness to find a resolution is laudable,” said Kemp.
NUMSA AND SACCA have demanded an 8% salary increase. SAA has advised that the airline cannot afford to pay any increases, however, it has offered the unions a 5.9% salary increase when funds are available.

SAA has unsuccessfully tried to dissuade the unions from embarking on industrial action by providing firm commitment dates to its offer. The unions have rejected the offer and embarked on industrial action.

“This is a critical time for the airline, and we will not give up on saving jobs and securing a future for the airline. It will not happen on our watch that SAA’s proud history of 85 years, ends,” said Kemp.

“Our efforts are focused on finding solutions that accommodate the employee demands, safeguard the business and return operations to normal. We are exploring all possible avenues,” said Kemp.

Meanwhile SAA has extended the cancellation of all domestic and regional flights scheduled for Sunday 17 November and Monday 18 November 2019, but will operate all international flights departing from OR Tambo International Airport from Sunday.

SAA will work with sister airline, Mango Airlines, to accommodate as many customers as possible travelling on domestic services.

Customers travelling to destinations in the regional market (points on the African continent) will be accommodated on Airlink, a partner airline of SAA, and other airlines where possible.

Customers are requested not to travel to their departure airports unless in possession of a rebooked itinerary. Customers seeking a refund or wishing to rebook their travel on a future SAA service have until 30 November 2019 to finalise their arrangements. 

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG.  14 November 2019 – South African Airways (SAA) said on Thursday a “no-work-no-pay” principle will apply to employees participating in the strike scheduled to start on Friday, 15 November and those who report for duty, will be allowed to work.

“Those who participate in the strike action will not be permitted back to work until the strike is over,” said Martin Kemp, Acting SAA General Manager for Human Resources. “The rest of the employees who report for duty will be allowed to work,” he continued.

SAA has cancelled all its domestic, regional and international flights scheduled for Friday, 15 November and Saturday, 16 November 2019 to minimise the impact of disruptions for its customers.

The cancellations follow an announcement by the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) that their members will embark on industrial action from Friday morning. 

“We are putting our customers first and regret the inevitable inconvenience that these cancellations may cause our customers,” said Kemp.

“The “no-work-no-pay” principle will apply to any employee participating in the strike action. Employees have been advised that any intimidation or assaults of other employees, damage to SAA property, or acts of misconduct will be dealt with decisively. Picketing rules will apply and these will be posted at the picketing sites,” said Kemp.  

SAA attempted to dissuade the unions from embarking on industrial action by providing firm commitment dates to SAA’s offer of 5.9%. Discussions are continuing to resolve the wage dispute.

Kemp said SAA will continue to spare no effort to work with the unions to find solutions that accommodate the employee demands, safeguard the business and return operations to normal. 

ISSUED BY SAA
 
For further information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 13 November 2019. South African Airways (SAA) has cancelled nearly all its domestic, regional and international flights scheduled for Friday, 15 November and Saturday, 16 November 2019. The airline’s key objective is to minimise the impact of disruptions for its customers.

The cancellations follow an announcement by the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) that their members will embark on industrial action from Friday morning. This is notwithstanding SAA’s repeated overtures to the unions to acknowledge the severity of the current situation facing the airline.

“We are putting our customers first and regret the inevitable inconvenience that these cancellations may cause our customers. However, by acting proactively SAA can certainly help customers find alternatives,” said Tlali Tlali, SAA Spokesperson.

“Unless alternative arrangements are in place, customers are requested not to go to their departure airports during the disruption as SAA will be unable to provide any assistance. Information on the status of our flights will be regularly updated on our website,” said Tlali.

Only flights operated by South African Airways will be affected. All flights operated on partner airlines, including SA Express, Mango, SA Airlink and all codeshare partners, including flights operated by our Star Alliance partner airlines will not be affected. These flights can be identified by their flight numbers and will operate as normal: SA 1000 – 1999, SA 2000 – 2999, SA 7000 – 7999 and SA 8000 to 8999.

SAA will operate flights from selected outstations on Friday 15 November 2019 back to SAA’s base, OR Tambo International Airport.  

Regional flights, which will operate on Friday morning, will return from Maputo (SA147), Lusaka (SA067), Harare (SA025), Windhoek (SA073), and Accra (SA210).

International flights, which will operate on Friday evening, will return from Frankfurt (SA261), New York (SA204), Munich (SA265), Hong Kong (SA287), Perth (SA281), Washington (SA210) and London (SA235).

The airline will assess the situation on an ongoing basis and Customers will be kept informed of all operational developments on a daily basis.

Tlali stated that, during the negotiations with the unions, SAA presented a revised offer for employees delivering a 5.9% increase subject to the availability of funds from lenders. NUMSA and SACCA are demanding an 8% increase.

National Transport Movement (NTM) has not stated whether their members will embark on a strike or not.

SAA attempted to dissuade the unions from embarking on industrial action by providing firm commitment dates to SAA’s offer of 5.9%. Discussions are continuing to resolve the wage matter at the time of issuing the statement.  

SAA will spare no effort to work jointly with the labour unions to find solutions that accommodate the employee demands, safeguard the business and return operations to normal.

-Ends-

ISSUED BY SAA

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG, 12 November 2019 - The restructuring process and wage negotiations are separate processes. Both these processes are necessary in the context of the serious challenges currently facing South African Airways (SAA).  Our objective is to secure the future of our national airline to ensure a bright future for our company’s employees.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), South African Airways Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) claimed that they had not been consulted about the restructuring process. This is not correct. It is SAA management’s full intention to respect and engage in a full consultative process.  We recognise that this is our duty as a responsible employer.

In terms of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), a Section 189 consultation process must commence with the issuing of a written notice.

On 11 November, SAA issued a written notice to the unions in line with the LRA. This was done after SAA scheduled a meeting with the unions on the same day. The recognised unions did not to attend. Our representative for employee relations called each of the recognised unions to inform them that the company has issued a Section 189 notice.

It is important to mention that yesterday SAA lodged an application at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to appoint a senior commissioner who will facilitate the consultations.

WAGE NEGOTIATIONS

By way of background, there were nine meetings on wage negotiations since February. In the latter part of the negotiations, SAA leadership made presentations to the unions regarding the liquidity status, financial performance and progress on the Long-term Turnaround Strategy (LTTS).

We have clearly indicated SAA’s difficult financial situation, even though we have made progress with the implementation of the Long-term Turnaround Strategy. 

It is our hope that our unions will grasp the full extent of the situation and engage with us in finding a constructive way going forward.

SAA has created an enabling environment of engagement with all its internal stakeholders, especially labour unions. We understand that this is a difficult time for all employees.

SAA’s primary goal is to transform into a financially sustainable airline, with a renewed focus on driving customer centricity, commercialising the airline, route network profitability, strengthening commercial and aviation skills and a series of strategic initiatives that will refocus the organisation in driving a profit and loss ethos with a strong focus on cost management revenue and cost.

We promise the following:

• Consult with the Employees who are potentially affected;
• Consult in good faith;
• Treat all Employees with dignity and respect;
• Comply with legislation;
• Comply with the Company’s policies, ethics and values;
• Communicate with all Employees regularly;
• Consult and communicate openly and transparently; and
• What we expect from our Employees is active engagement and participation

THREAT OF INDUSTRIAL ACTION

We need to address the sustained loss-making position that has persisted over the past years.  That is why we are leading a restructuring process that seeks to give this airline the future it deserves and establishing SAA once again as “Africa’s leading world-class airline.”

We note with concern any threat by the unions to consider initiating industrial action. Let me state the reality clearly; any interruption to our operation, endangers the future of our airline; our ability to deliver our strategy and threatens every job at SAA and related industries.

We are confident that by working together we can meet the objectives of the strategy. Now is the time for us to unite however difficult the decisions are for us as we move forward. Our shared responsibility is great and we can secure a bright future, not only for SAA but also for the country. 

ISSUED BY DEON FREDERICKS, SAA INTERIM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG, November 11, 2019 - South African Airways has informed all its 5146 employees that it is embarking on a restructuring process which may lead to job losses.

Acting Chief Executive Officer, Zuks Ramasia said the airline has commenced a consultation process with all employees in line with section 189 of the Labour Relations Act. The act requires an employer to consult with recognised labour unions and keep abreast employees who may be affected by the restructuring process.

Although the process may lead to retrenchments, Ramasia said SAA hoped to minimise the impact while offering support to those who would be directly affected.

She said SAA has faced numerous challenges over the past few years culminating in the current grave situation.  The challenges include, funding and liquidity challenges;  inability to borrow indefinitely without repaying debt; high interest costs on loans; volatile and fluctuating fuel price;  currency volatility;  insufficient revenue and cash generation in relation to operating cost; ageing fleet which is expensive to maintain and is fuel inefficient, making it difficult for SAA to compete in the market place; and aggressive international and regional competition for revenue stimulation and network optimisation.

“In addition, SAA’s balance sheet has historically been weak and remains so despite recent substantial capital injections from the government. Our continued losses and reliance on government guarantees to borrow money from lenders, have increased the interest costs which impacts the operating cost of the business.

“We urgently need to address ongoing lossmaking position that has subsisted over the past years.  That is why we are undergoing a restructuring process that seeks to ensure effective implementation of the accelerated Long Term Turnaround Strategy amidst the present prevailing operational challenges.

The scope of the restructuring encompasses all SAA divisions and departments and excludes the subsidiaries; SAAT, Mango Airlines and Air Chefs,” she said.

Ramasia said as at 1 November 2019, SAA had a total workforce of 5 149 globally.  It is difficult to estimate the number of employees who may eventually be impacted. No final decision will be taken until the consultation process is concluded. However, it is estimated that approximately 944 employees may be affected.

In terms of the Labour Relations Act, SAA and representative trade unions may agree to select a facilitator or alternatively, request the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration to facilitate the consultation process, which may last until 11 January 2020.

Ramasia said during the consultation process, SAA will engage meaningfully with the recognised unions and affected employees on: appropriate measures to minimise the number of retrenchments; mitigate the adverse effects of the retrenchments; the method for selecting the employees to be retrenched; the severance pay for employees that may be retrenched;   affected job categories; and the timing of retrenchments due to operational requirements, if required. 

“These hard decisions were necessary to put SAA on a more sustainable footing while ensuring we continue to offer customers the best service. It is a matter of great regret that that we will part ways with some loyal colleagues. We are taking all possible steps to ensure these changes are managed in a caring manner and that everyone is treated with dignity,” said Ramasia.

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 31 October 2019. South African Airways (SAA) today took delivery of the first of four new Airbus A350-900s, which improves the airline’s customer offering and commercial prospects.

“We welcome the first A350 home on South African soil. The introduction of the A350s offers a new beginning for the airline and will contribute to the airline’s operational efficiencies, and get SAA back on track. It is an important step-change as we continue to make progress to transform our business and return the airline to financial sustainability in the shortest time possible,” says Zuks Ramasia, SAA’s Acting CEO.

The first aircraft arrived amidst much excitement with employees welcoming the new acquisition as the latest arrival to boost SAA’s fleet with modern, fuel-efficient aircraft, which presents a superior customer experience.

The aircraft will operate on one of SAA’s ultra-long haul routes between Johannesburg and New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK), replacing the Airbus A340-600 on this route and will still be operated on a nonstop basis. As additional aircraft are introduced, more routes will be operated by the Airbus A350-900s.

Business and Economy Class customers will enjoy the quieter cabin, a more relaxing environment during flight. The Airbus A350-900 is configured with a maximum of 339 seats, of which 30 are Business Class seats and 309 are Economy Class seats, with the first six rows in Economy Class offering extra legroom to provide a more comfortable experience, especially on longer flights. The Business Class cabin has lie flat beds.

The aircraft also offers a modern In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system throughout the cabin.

SAA is set to receive four Airbus A350-900s over a period of six weeks, and all four are expected to operate commercially by mid-December following regulatory approvals and training. SAA will operate the aircraft for three years.

The first two aircraft are nine months old and previously flew commercially with another carrier. Aircraft number two and three are scheduled for arrival during the first week of November and the fourth aircraft will arrive in early December.

The last two aircraft are brand new and will be delivered to SAA directly from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France. These two aircraft are sub-leased from Air Mauritius and will also fly with SAA for three years.

The commonality and common type rating between the Airbus A350-900 XWB powered aircraft and the other Airbus aircraft in SAA’s fleet translate directly into cost saving for training pilots, crew, engineers and technicians as well as for spares inventory.

The A350-900 XWB has excellent range/payload performance on long-haul flights departing from Johannesburg (the hot-and-high consideration). SAA will achieve approximately 25% lower operating costs (cash) operating the A350-900 XWB, over a 5-year period, compared with some of its four-engine aircraft generation that has similar range and payload capabilities. 

SAA will achieve approximately 25% savings in fuel consumption and emissions. Besides lower operating costs, it will also reduce SAA’s exposure to South Africa’s recently imposed Carbon Tax because it is more environmentally friendly and help it achieves global emissions offset mechanism targets for international aviation requirements.

SAA will also benefit from the approximately 40% lower cost for maintaining the A350-900 XWB’s airframe over a 5-year period, that is, the aircraft excluding the engines, compared with some of its four-engine aircraft generation it will replace on the Johannesburg-New York-Johannesburg and other routes.

The aircraft will be equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Since entering service in 2015, the Trent XWB engines have flown more than five million hours and is regarded as the world’s most efficient large aero-engine.

“With this we extend our relationship with Rolls-Royce and the Trent family of engines by adding the Trent XWB to a fleet that already includes the Trent 700, powering the Airbus A330s,” says Ramasia.

#SAA350

#LookUpSAA

#Flysaa

-ends-

ISSUED BY SAA

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service

Ms Bali Mabena

Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146

Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 27 October 2019. South African Airways (SAA) is pleased to announce the launch of a codeshare partnership with Africa World Airlines (AWA) effective 27 October 2019. 

The codeshare agreement will apply between Accra (ACC) – Kumasi (KMS), Accra - Lagos (LOS) and Accra – Abuja (ABV). The partnership is unilateral at the moment, with SAA marketing on the services of AWA as the operating carrier. SAA customers will be able to travel on the routes on one SAA ticket where travel includes Johannesburg.

We are planning more destinations in the near future once we get the necessary approvals.

SAA and AWA currently have an interline agreement established in 2018 and it provides seamless connections for our customers to/from Abuja, Lagos, Monrovia, Freetown, Kumasi, Tamale, Wa and Takoradi over Accra, to SAA mainline flights to/from Johannesburg and Washington.

The establishment of the codeshare agreement will take the relationship to greater heights as it enables a smooth travel experience and more travel options for customers. Members of SAA’s frequent flyer programme Voyager, will have the opportunity to earn frequent flyer mileage on the codeshare flights.

Growing the partnership with AWA forms part of SAA’s strategic approach of seeking partnerships with other airlines and collaborations in Africa. Currently, SAA has 24 partnerships with airlines across the globe, which offer customers access to the destinations we do not serve ourselves – and we are growing partnerships with other airlines and strengthening collaborations.             

“South African Airways greatly values our rapidly developing partnership with Africa World Airlines. Our new codeshare agreement opens up new opportunities in West Africa, and offer exciting new services and convenient connections to our customers,” said SAA’s Chief Commercial Officer, Philip Saunders.

“Africa World Airlines is very pleased to expand our partnership with South African Airways through the introduction of this codeshare agreement. This is an important step towards providing passengers even more seamless travel options in the West African region via our hub in Accra,” said AWA's Chief Operations Officer, Sean Mendis.

The codeshare schedule will be as follows:

Days of the week, Monday = 1; +1 is the following day

-ends-

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service

Ms Bali Mabena

Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146

Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG, 24 OCTOBER 2019. South African Airways (SAA) flight schedule has returned to normal after the airline has ensured that majority of the aircraft that were identified for the compliance checks have been released back into service. All flights are now operating on schedule.

A total of 25 aircraft in SAA’s fleet were identified to undergo a compliance verification process required by SACAA.  So far, 21 have undergone the compliance verification process resulting in an 84% completion rate of the identified aircraft.  The remaining four are undergoing a scheduled extended maintenance service. Their absence will not affect the airline operations, as they were not included in the schedule to allow for routine maintenance.

SAA’s decision to recall its aircraft followed an oversight inspection conducted by SACAA at the airline’s maintenance subsidiary, South African Airways Technical (SAAT) and an audit on one aircraft operated by another carrier.

SAA implemented contingency plans to ensure business continuity.

The return to normal flight schedule was in place on Wednesday already as SAA’s average on-time performance was at 93% for domestic, regional and international flights and the airline operated all its flights.

SAA once again apologises for the inconvenience caused during the past two days and will continue to update customers on an ongoing basis when required.

SAA wishes to assure all customers that despite the compliance verification process on a specified number of aircraft by the maintenance subsidiary, South African Airways Technical (SAAT), all of the airline’s aircraft are airworthy and normal operations have been restored.

ISSUED BY SAA

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service

Ms Bali Mabena

Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146

Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG, 22 OCTOBER - South African Airways (SAA) advises customers that it may operate an amended flight schedule following a decision to recall some of its aircraft to undertake compliance verification in line with the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) requirements.

The decision to recall the aircraft follows an oversight inspection conducted by SACAA at SAA’s maintenance subsidiary, South African Airways Technical (SAAT).

Some of the flights will operate later than usual and SAA has implemented its contingency plans to ensure business continuity.

Whilst there were only four (4) domestic flight cancellations, SAA took steps to combine flights and deploy bigger aircraft to accommodate affected passengers. This has significantly reduced the impact of the inconvenience on the customers. The operational impact on the domestic flights is as per the Table below.

SAA understands that the inspection conducted by SACAA was in accordance with its regulations and a necessary exercise to ensure compliance and safety.

SAA apologises for the inconvenience caused to its customers and passengers.

SAA will continue to update the situation on an ongoing basis.

-ENDS-

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG, 15 October 2019. The board of Directors of South African Airways (SAA) wishes to correct baseless and factual inaccuracies in stories circulating in media outlets alleging “Shady dealings at SAA” and “Acting SAA board chairperson at the centre of R200m tender row.” The original story was published by the Sunday Independent newspaper.

SAA identified the need for a professional service provider to design an appropriate management system for executives. This new performance management system would align the SAA performance management system with the Department of Public Enterprises performance guidelines.

The board of directors wishes to clarify that although the appointment of the service provider, 21st Century, was the subject of an investigation by SAA’s internal audit department, the amount involved was R344 000 and not “more than R200-million” as reported.

The appointment of the service provider was managed by SAA Supply Chain Management (SCM), not by the board of directors. The SCM of SAA is entirely responsible for all procurement process. Furthermore, the internal audit report makes no finding whatsoever against any individual member of REMCO, especially the SAA Acting Chairperson, Thandeka Mgoduso. Ms Mgoduso has no commercial association with 21st Century. There were also no secret meetings between Ms Mgoduso and 21st Century.

The observations of the report will be considered by the board in due course.

ISSUED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF SAA

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email:               TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile:             +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office:               +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service

Ms Bali Mabena

Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146

Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG, 10 October 2019. The board of Directors of South African Airways (SAA) wish to state categorically that the airline’s maintenance division South African Airways Technical (SAAT) did not and does not use fake parts when servicing aircraft belonging to Mango Airlines or any other airline it services.

Our statement follows a Sunday Times story headlined “Jet scare highlights criminals in the SAA workshop.”

We wish to assure customers that all components and parts are procured from approved suppliers and all supporting documentation complies with South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) requirements on components. 

SAA strongly refutes claims in the media that the airline admitted to possibly having been supplied with “suspect parts” or components. Whilst any acts of criminality cannot be ruled out, it is untrue that there is a known international crime syndicate that has infiltrated SAA or SAAT that is responsible for tender manipulation and/or corruption at SAA or SAAT. There is no link, direct or indirect between the aircraft incident involving the Mango flight reported on and matters that are currently under investigation at SAAT. 

For background purposes: On 2 September 2019 a flight operated by Mango Airlines experienced technical difficulties that resulted in an air turn-back.  The event itself had a limited impact on passengers, who on the day, would have experienced a minor jolt, akin to driving through a pothole, as the flight crew disengaged autopilot to assume manual flight controls in accordance with the operating procedures of the aircraft manufacturer.  The crew noted that no significant loss of height was experienced, with Mango’s Director of Flight Operations noting a loss in elevation of less than two feet.  Mango’s flight crew handled the incident in accordance with the airline’s standard operating procedures, and the event was duly reported to the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).  

The cause of the air turn-back related to a component failure.  The part, a stabiliser trim motor, failed during the climb of the flight to its planned cruise altitude. After levelling off in the cruise the crew’s attention was drawn to a “Stab out of trim” condition. This simply notifies the crew that the autopilot is maintaining the flight condition, but that the aircraft is not trimmed correctly. The crew read the checklist which very simply instructs them to hold the control column and disconnect the autopilot, which they complied with.  

The aircraft component that failed on the Mango flight of 2 September 2019, was legitimately procured from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. SAAT received the part from the manufacturer on 5 August 2019.  It was fitted on Mango’s aircraft on 7 August 2019 and failed after 96 flights and 125 hours of operation.

We are awaiting feedback from the OEM – to whom the failed component has been returned to establish the cause of the component failure. Mango and SAAT are providing the required assistance to the SACAA in progressing their investigation.

SAAT is audited, inclusive of site inspections, by independent global organisations such as the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).

It can also be confirmed that none of the independent oversight audits that Mango has performed over SAAT over the years have at any stage given rise to any finding as it relates to traceability of parts.  “In all my career spanning 20 years of flying for different airlines, including 6 years within management in Mango Airlines, I have never been made aware, nor have I ever heard any rumours of bogus or untraceable parts being used by SAA Technical or in relation to Mango aircraft,” said Captain Juan Naude, Director of Flight Operations for Mango.  

To ensure that SAA, SAAT and Mango comply with airworthiness requirements each year, civil aviation authorities issue two certificates for every aircraft in our fleet. The first licence is the airline operating certificate and the second one is the airworthiness certificate. We have obtained and maintain both certificates. Our safety management systems, quality assurance and airworthiness records have been confirmed by regulatory authorities.

Our commitment to the safety of our passengers and staff lies at the heart of our operations. All of our staff are accountable for the delivery of the highest level of safety performance.

We wish to reiterate our commitment to the safety of our customers and assure the South African public that we continue to operate according to the highest possible safety standards.

ISSUED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF SAA

For further information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service 
Ms Bali Mabena
Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com 
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146
Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Air Chefs, a catering subsidiary of South African Airways (SAA), today successfully interdicted industrial action by one of the labour unions, NUMSA.

The company approached the Labour court bringing an application to interdict or stop the industrial action. The interdict was granted on Monday afternoon.

This means, should any members of NUMSA at Air Chefs continue with industrial action, before this date, this will be deemed an unprotected strike as it is not in compliance with the strike provisions according to the Labour Relations Act.

In addition to the interdict, Air Chefs management has taken steps to activate contingency plans to ensure minimal or no impact on all operations and to Air Chefs customers including the airlines it serves, should an unprotected industrial action take place.

At this stage, there are no operational disruptions on Monday.

The notice to strike emanates from NUMSA’s claims of “unilateral changes to their terms and conditions of employment” in that, according to them an anniversary bonus payment arrangement has been amended unilaterally by Air Chefs.

The bonus payment is regulated by the Catering and Allied Bargaining Council Collective agreement and is therefore not a matter of mutual interest that NUMSA may strike over. Air Chefs’ position is that it is not in breach of the collective agreement relating to bonus payments but is in strict compliance thereto. Any dispute NUMSA may have on this matter must be adjudicated at the Bargaining Council through conciliation and arbitration.

Air Chefs remains committed to continued discussions with all unions represented in Air Chefs and will continue to conduct regular engagements with Labour.

Air Chefs apologises for any inconvenience caused by messages suggesting there would be operational disruptions.

-ends-

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service

Ms Bali Mabena

Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146

Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

South African Airways Technical (SAAT) and its parent company, South African Airways (SAA), are aware of an unfortunate YouTube video linking the new Chief Executive Officer of the airline’s maintenance subsidiary, Mr Adam Voss, to a helicopter accident that occurred in 2011.

The video is not only defamatory but contains claims that are factually baseless and untrue about SAA, SAAT and Mr Voss.

SAAT and SAA find it disconcerting, disturbing and distressing that the YouTube video narrator opportunistically made comments insinuating that Mr Voss may have been complicit in the events that led to that helicopter accident. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the video was produced to slander and impugn the reputation of Mr Voss and to damage the image of both SAAT and SAA.

SAA and Mr Voss are exploring all options, including legal action to get the video expunged from circulation.

SAA has investigated and verified certain claims made in the video and is satisfied that the appointment of Mr Voss, who joined the airline on 1 July, followed a recruitment and selection process provided for in the company’s Human Resources policy.

Mr Voss brings a wealth of technical aviation experience gained from working in senior executive engineering and maintenance positions around the world at prominent companies. His extensive and demonstrable track record of delivering sustainable results, effective in leading turnaround situations, has a strong quality, safety, commercial, and profit-orientated motivation. His appointment at SAAT is intended to enhance executive capacity to deliver on the turnaround plans.

Once the YouTube video surfaced, Mr Voss voluntarily provided factual perspective and context to adverse claims made against him. The fatal helicopter crash was operated by two pilots and occurred 2 years after Mr Voss left the mining company. The contracted helicopter company for the mining company was furthermore different to the helicopter company with whom the mining company was contracted during Mr Voss’ tenure.

Also claims in the video that SAA had reprimanded its pilots for reporting snags are without basis or merit. Pilots are trained professionals who know and understand their responsibilities and legal obligations in terms of civil aviation laws.

It is wild speculation to suggest that SAA pilots operate un-airworthy aircraft and that they are labelled as racists when snags are raised during pre-flight aircraft inspections. SAA has a zero tolerance approach towards racism and will take steps immediately against anyone within the company who is racist or makes racist slurs.

SAA is subject to regulatory audits conducted routinely by independent regulators in the industry in all markets where SAA operates across the world.  SAA has recently been audited and found to be fully compliant, hence SAA continues to fly in all markets it serves.

-Ends-

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service

Ms Bali Mabena

Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146

Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

South African Airways (SAA) is pleased to announce the expansion of the codeshare agreement with Air Seychelles (HM) to New York effective 1 November 2019. SAA will be the operating carrier on the Johannesburg (JNB) – New York (JFK) sector and Air Seychelles will be the marketing carrier. The codeshare flights will open for sale on 15 October 2019 and the effective date of travel will be from 1 November 2019.

The codeshare agreement between the two airlines has been in existence since 2013. SAA has been a marketing carrier between Johannesburg and Seychelles - Praslin Island operated by Air Seychelles whilst Air Seychelles has been a marketing carrier on Cape Town, Durban, Windhoek and Perth services operated by SAA. The New York expansion will further enhance the codeshare partnership by providing easy connections and a smooth travel experience for travellers during their entire journey. 

The New York schedule will be as follows:

• All times as per origin / destination.

“We are delighted to announce the expansion of our codeshare agreements with Air Seychelles. This move provides customers with seamless connections between the Seychelles and the US East Coast.  As a result, SAA and its partners are well-positioned to strengthen our New York route. This augurs well with our efforts to focus on route performance and profitability as part of our initiatives to implement our turnaround strategy.” says Philip Saunders, Chief Commercial Officer at SAA.                 

Charles Johnson, Chief Commercial Officer at Air Seychelles said: “Adding JFK into the Air Seychelles network will provide more accessibility to travellers from the US to travel to the Seychelles in addition to bringing more visibility about destination Seychelles through the joint marketing efforts that will build awareness about the new codeshare partnership.

“For over five years now we have partnered with South African Airways, and thank them for their continuous support in enabling Air Seychelles to expand its network reach and we look forward to maintaining the successful partnership.”

-Ends-

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

About Air Seychelles

Air Seychelles was established in 1978 and began long-haul service in 1983. The airline currently offers international flights to Johannesburg, Mauritius and Mumbai. The airline is also offering seasonal flights to Madagascar until 26 October 2019. Air Seychelles offers more than 350 domestic scheduled flights a week throughout the archipelago, including domestic charter services.  As the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, Air Seychelles is a pillar of tourism, the island nation’s strongest and growing economic sector. The airline maintains a strategic partnership with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates and 40 per cent stakeholder. For more information, please visit: www.airseychelles.com

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson

Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service

Ms Bali Mabena

Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146

Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Air Seychelles:

Media Inquiries

Sheryl Barra

Head of Corporate Affairs

Email: sbarra@airseychelles.com

Tel:  +248 439-1072

Mobile:  +248 257-6398

JOHANNESBURG. 27 September 2019. SAA has noted the statements made by South African Airways Pilots’ Association (SAAPA) in the media. We are disappointed that this has been placed in the public domain while we continue to engage meaningfully with SAAPA on a number of issues. We are in the middle of the negotiation process and we would prefer to see that the process run its natural course before any statements are made by the parties.

However, given that SAAPA has raised a number of issues publicly, SAA would like to set the record straight and state as follows:          

1. We accept that SAA is facing a number of challenges on many fronts, including revenue stimulation and network optimisation. To address this challenge, an experienced executive with responsibility for this area has started in September 2019. 
2. SAA has taken steps to bring in required capacity to strengthen management and this is widely known and seen within the company. We all must acknowledge that the appointment processes take time, as due process has to be followed. Notwithstanding, a number of key appointments, including the Chief Commercial Officer, the CEO of SAA Technical, the CEO of Mango, have been announced and more executive hires are in the pipeline. 
3. Management continues to engage with SAAPA, other unions and all employees in sharing progress being made and mechanisms being developed to address the many other challenges. Inputs from all interested parties in the company are welcomed and given due consideration. 
4. SAA wants to assure the public, its employees and SAAPA that we are cognisant of the need to turn SAA around urgently, hence the accelerated Long-term Turnaround Strategy (LTTS) implementation. 
5. We are committed to building a strong and resilient SAA in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. The board and the executive are seized with this urgent task and we urge SAAPA to continue with the constructive engagements they have had with the company. 
6. It is in no one’s interest to embark on industrial action. We would hope that everyone is committed to the philosophy and course of action set out above, which we believe is supported by all key stakeholders.

-Ends-

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For further information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Customer Service

Ms Bali Mabena

Email: saacustomerservice@flysaa.com or BaliMabena@flysaa.com
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2888 or 0860 003 146

Mobile: +27 (0)83 459-3137

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

FRANKFURT, Germany – 19 August 2019 –Brazilian airline Ocean Air Linhas Aéreas S/A, headquartered in São Paulo and formerly doing business as Avianca Brasil, will formally leave Star Alliance with effect from 1 September 2019.

Ocean Air’s withdrawal follows several months of bankruptcy protection and the withdrawal of its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) by Brazilian regulator ANAC.

The Star Alliance network maintains a significant and long-time presence in the Brazilian market continuously since its founding in 1997.

As of 1 September 2019, the Alliance will number 27 member airlines.

Jeffrey Goh, CEO Star Alliance, said: “Initially joining Star Alliance in 2015, Avianca Brasil made important contributions to our customer proposition in the Brazilian market, and we regret this unfortunate development.

“I wish to stress that the exit of Avianca Brasil in no way affects the membership of Avianca S.A., our valued member based in Bogota, Colombia, which continues to be a significant contributor to the Alliance in South America."

Eleven of the Star Alliance member airlines offer direct services to and from Brazil, namely: Air Canada, Avianca, Air China, Copa Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS, South African Airways, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines and United. 

Taken together, Star Alliance member airlines operate 588 weekly flights from 11 domestic points in Brazil to 17 Star Alliance hubs, offering connections to a further 738 international destinations, more than any other airline alliance.

-Ends-

About Star Alliance:
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, , Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Ocean Air Linhas Aéreas S/A (formerly doing business as Avianca Brasil),  Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 19,000 daily flights to more than 1,300 airports in 194 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines. 

Further information can be obtained via:

Star Alliance Press Office
Tel: +49 69 96375 183
Fax: +49 69 96375 683
Email: mediarelations@staralliance.com
www.staralliance.com
Twitter @staralliance https://twitter.com/staralliance
Facebook: www.facebook.com/staralliance
LinkedIn:    https://www.linkedin.com/company/staralliance
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/staralliancenetwork
Instagram: https://instagram.com/staralliance/

JOHANNESBURG. 8 August 2019. South African Airways (SAA) is further strengthening its presence in Ghana by increasing weekly frequencies from 9 to 10 flights between Johannesburg and Accra, and by launching a daily service between Accra and Washington DC, with effect from 5th September 2019. 

All services to Washington DC commence in Johannesburg with a short stopover in Accra.

These two additional weekly services to Washington DC provide SAA’s most convenient schedule yet between Ghana and North America, and will also deliver seamless connections for customers from across West Africa. This includes connections to/from Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria; to/from Monrovia in Liberia; and to/from Freetown in Sierra Leone. This important strategic milestone has been made possible through SAA’s growing co-operation and partnership with Africa World Airlines (AWA).

At the same time, SAA is examining new opportunities to connect Dakar services through our Accra base. Whilst these plans are finalised, SAA will temporarily suspend services between Johannesburg and Dakar, with effect from 5th September 2019.

Welcoming these developments, SAA’s Acting CEO, Zuks Ramasia, stated: “One of the key pillars of our strategy is to connect South Africa to West Africa and beyond to North America. Our partnership with Africa World Airlines (AWA) continues to deepen with these new schedules and benefits customers across the African Continent.”

Sean Mendis, Chief Operating Officer at Africa World Airlines, is in agreement: “Expanding our co-operation with SAA means that passengers can enjoy quick and seamless connections between AWA and SAA flights in Accra’s new Terminal 3.”

The new schedule will operate as below (local times):

SA209 (Daily)
Johannesburg (JNB) departs 18h30 to Accra (ACC), arrives 22h35 
Accra (ACC) departs 23h35 to Washington Dulles (IAD), arrives 06h25 (next day)

SA210 (Daily)
Washington Dulles (IAD) departs 17h40 to Accra (ACC), arrives 08h10 (next day)
Accra (ACC) departs 09h10 to Johannesburg (JNB), arrives 16h55

SA056 (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays)
Johannesburg (JNB) departs 13h05 to Accra (ACC), arrives 17h10
Accra (ACC) departs 18h10 to Abidjan (ABJ), arrives 19h10

SA057 (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays)
Abidjan (ABJ) departs 20h20 to Accra (ACC), arrives 21h20
Accra (ACC) departs 22h20  to Johannesburg (JNB), arrives 06h05 (next day)

These schedules are being published simultaneously across all SAA Distribution Channels.

Ticketed SAA customers travelling between Johannesburg and Washington DC via Dakar (Blaise Diagne International) and those travelling between Johannesburg and Dakar, will be contacted and re-routed or re-accommodated as appropriate. Full details can be found at www.flysaa.com.

-End-

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For further information please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Mr Themba Khumalo
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353
Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 6 August 2019. South African Airways (SAA) would like to apologize to all its passengers for the inconvenience and anxiety caused to all its customers who flew from Johannesburg and Accra to Washington D.C. on Sunday. 

Two unconnected incidents contributed to the delay in departure from Accra on Sunday night. The first was damage to the aircraft door and subsequent to that, a technical problem occurred which led to a decision to night-stop in Accra whilst waiting for a replacement aircraft.  

SAA operated a scheduled flight, SA 209 on Sunday from Johannesburg to Washington D.C. via Accra. The flight operated in a normal way from Johannesburg to Accra using Airbus A330-200. 

Whilst on the ground in Accra, there was a delay which lasted for approximately three hours after an aircraft door was damaged by a catering truck operated by SAA’s service provider at that airport. The aircraft door was fixed, inspected and found to be in working order to operate. 

The stop-over in Accra en route to the United States is part of SAA’s operations in that market and serves to offload and pick up passengers as well as to refuel. 

After refuelling, the aircraft took off at approximately 03h13 UTC but soon returned to the airport in Accra when the cockpit crew noticed that the aircraft was experiencing a technical problem, which was detected in the cockpit. The operating crew followed standard operating procedures in cases of emergencies throughout and landed the aircraft safely as soon as possible. 

The incident led to an operational decision that it was undesirable to continue to operate the flight to Washington D.C. 

There is no information or basis to make a connection between damage to the aircraft door and the technical problem experienced in the cockpit while the aircraft was airborne. 
Contrary to reports on social media and other platforms, SAA would like to reiterate that there was no fire in the cockpit. No one was injured and the aircraft made an air-turn back and landed safely in Accra with all 223 passengers on board and the operating crew.

The aircraft is still on the ground in Accra and is being attended to by the technicians to establish the cause of the technical problem. 

SAA provided hotel accommodation to its customers in Accra and provided other services to mitigate the impact of the inconvenience to our passengers. In addition, SAA dispatched a replacement aircraft from Johannesburg to Accra to fly the passengers to their final destination. 

The flight departed from Accra at 18h01 UTC on Monday, operated as SA9209 and has landed in Washington D.C. on Tuesday at 04h21 UTC.

Whilst the incidents could not have been foreseen, the decision was taken based on safety considerations, in the best interests of passengers and crew. 

SAA is grateful that our crew followed every safety procedure and did not discount anything.   

-Ends-

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Mr Themba Khumalo
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353
Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 4 July 2019. South African Airways (SAA) has signed codeshare and Frequent Flyer agreements with Brazilian airline Gol - Linhas Aéreas (GOL).

The agreement will enable SAA to add its code on flights operated by GOL in the Brazilian territory, which will allow SAA customers to integrate their travel with easy connections on flights of both carriers. The codeshare is effective from today and tickets can already be purchased through all SAA sales channels including flysaa.com.

The agreement makes it possible for SAA to add its code on 20 connecting flights in Brazil operated by GOL, including Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, and Florianópolis, among others. The codeshare with the leading carrier in the domestic Brazilian market extends SAA’s reach throughout Brazil.

Besides the codeshare, the signed Frequent Flyer Programme ("FFP") agreement offers members of each airline’s programmes, Voyager from SAA and Smiles from GOL, the opportunity to accrue and redeem miles. Customers from Smiles can accrue and redeem miles on flights operated by SAA to Africa, Asia and Australia, and Voyager members can accrue and redeem Voyager miles on flights operated by GOL.

“We are extremely pleased with this agreement which comes at an opportune time and gives strategic impetus to our strategy of growing partnerships globally to offer our customers more travel options. It is an important step in the execution of our strategy and gives our customers, through our direct flights to Sao Paulo, a number of further travel options to explore Brazil. In turn, the mutually beneficial agreement offers GOL customers the chance to explore the riches of Africa,” says Zuks Ramasia, SAA acting Chief Executive Officer.

“The partnership with South African Airways is in line with our commitment to offer a larger international connectivity, with quality of service and integrated products of each carrier. Thus, we enable more destinations options and connectivity bringing more benefits to our clients, with more agility and the smart use of time on their trips,” says Randall Saenz Aguero, GOL’s Director of Alliances, International Expansion and Distribution.

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:

Head of Marketing

Mr Themba Khumalo

Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597

Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353

Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Johannesburg, 2 July 2019. The Board of South African Airways supports the appointment made by the Board of Mango Airlines SOC of Mr Nico Bezuidenhout as Chief Executive Officer effective 1 October 2019.  

This latest appointment of a permanent CEO at Mango, a subsidiary low-cost airline wholly owned by South African Airways, is a further step in stabilising leadership and strengthening the executive capacity of the Group.

“We are pleased to welcome Nico Bezuidenhout back into the SAA Group. His appointment will advance the implementation of the turnaround strategy of SAA Group,” said SAA Board Chairman JB Magwaza.

-ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson Mr Tlali Tlali

Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com

Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880

Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:

Head of Marketing

Mr Themba Khumalo

Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597

Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353

Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 30 June 2019. South African Airways (SAA) is introducing the latest technology, available in ultra-long-haul aircraft, hailing exciting news for customers travelling nonstop between Johannesburg and New York JFK.

SAA will supplement its existing long-haul fleet with new Airbus A350-900 aircraft, which are modern, twin-engine, and wide-body aircraft. These new-generation aircraft boast fuel-efficiency and other benefits and advantages. The aircraft will operate on one of SAA’s ultra-long haul routes between Johannesburg and New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK), replacing the A340-600 aircraft on this route and will still be operated on a nonstop basis.

“The introduction of these state-of-the-art aircraft to our fleet is an important step-change as we continue to make progress to transform our business and return the airline to financial sustainability in the shortest time possible.

“These aircraft present an immediate opportunity to offer an improved product between Johannesburg and New York which will be accompanied by unmatched and consistent customer experience for both Business and Economy Class customers,” says acting SAA CEO, Zukisa Ramasia.

The Airbus A350-900 is the world's premier aircraft and offers the highest levels of customer and crew comfort combined with excellent economics for ultra-long-haul flights. The aircraft also offers a modern In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system throughout the cabin.

The A350 has the latest offering in safety, maintenance and efficiency (technology). These aircraft present an opportunity for SAA to reduce fuel burn by approximately 20% compared to the aircraft currently operating on that route. This will translate into significant cost savings that will contribute towards improved operating costs and financial performance. In addition, the significance of this development is that it will add to a positive environmental impact, as SAA will also reduce its carbon emissions.

SAA will lease the aircraft for up to three years.

The A350 configuration has 246 Economy Class seats with the first six rows offering extra legroom to provide a more comfortable experience, especially on longer flights. The Business Class cabin has lie flat beds.

SAA will take delivery of the aircraft in the second half of 2019. The aircraft will be operational in SAA’s branding as soon as SAA has met the regulatory authority requirements.

“We are proud to offer our customers the latest generation aircraft with a modern product, including a quieter cabin, a more relaxing environment during flight, and the latest in-flight entertainment,” concludes Ramasia.

-ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson Mr Tlali Tlali

Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com

Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880

Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:

Head of Marketing

Mr Themba Khumalo

Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597

Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353

Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 19 June 2019. South African Airways (SAA) has claimed the Skytrax award for Best Airline Staff Service in Africa for the seventh time, reaffirming its vision as the leading airline on the African continent.

SAA is an award-winning airline and is proud of the number of awards it wins annually.

In addition to the award as Best Airline Staff in Africa 2019, SAA also won awards for Best Cabin Crew in Africa 2019; Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness in Africa 2019, and Best Business Class Lounge in Africa 2019.

Ms Zuks Ramasia, SAA Acting CEO received the prestigious award at the 2019 World Airline Awards held at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, France.

“We are immensely proud to win – for the seventh time - the Best Airline Staff Service in Africa award at the annual World Airline Awards hosted by Skytrax, known as the Oscars of the aviation industry. This award is dedicated to all our diligent and passionate employees, especially our front-line staff, who make a tremendous difference to the travel experience of our customers,” said Ramasia.

The Best Airline Staff Service award recognises service excellence across the entire spectrum of front-line customer service touch points. The award covers South African Airways’ staff service for both airport and on-board experience. Customer satisfaction scoring evaluates all aspects of staff service efficiency, friendliness and service hospitality, staff language skills and overall quality consistency for the airline's staff.

Edward Plaisted of Skytrax said; “This is a major recognition for the thousands of South African Airways front-line staff who are responsible for serving customers, both in the airport and on-board environment. Achieving this top ranked consistency is not an easy task in the airline business, and it is a great accolade for South African Airways to have achieved this major recognition from customers.”

Star Alliance, an international airline network alliance of which SAA is a member airline, also claimed the Best Airline Alliance title at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, for the fourth year running. The Alliance’s prestigious Los Angeles Lounge retained the Best Airline Alliance Lounge Award for the fifth year in a row.

SAA is a 4-Star airline, and has maintained this ranking, in both Business and Economy Class for 17 consecutive years. Given that the highest rating that can be achieved is 5 Stars, this accolade demonstrates that the airline is maintaining its efforts to deliver excellent customer service and products.

The past weekend SAA was also named the Coolest Domestic Airline at the Sunday Times Gen Next Awards, which is the leading barometer of youth sentiment in South Africa. The airline’s in-flight magazine, Sawubona, in early June won the award for Africa’s Leading In-Flight Magazine at the World Travel Awards™ (WTA) for the fifth year in a row.

-ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

Awards SAA won in 2018
•December 2018 - SAA recognized as “Best Airline in Africa” and “Best Business Class to Africa”: October 2018 - SAA’s inflight magazine Sawubona scoops an award for 4th consecutive year at World Travel Awards™
•July 2018 Star Alliance again voted best alliance – 17 member carriers claim 49 awards.
•July 2018 - SAA voted Best Airline Staff in Africa
•April 2018 - SAA awarded 4-Star Skytrax ranking 16 times

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:

Head of Marketing

Mr Themba Khumalo

Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597

Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353

Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Paris, France  – June 18th, 2019 –  For the fourth year running, Star Alliance has claimed the Best Airline Alliance title at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, with the Alliance’s prestigious Los Angeles Lounge retaining the Best Airline Alliance Lounge Award for the fifth year in a row.

Upon accepting the honour at the 53rd Paris Air Show, Star Alliance CEO Jeffrey Goh, said: “This award would not have been possible without the trust and loyalty of the many hundreds of millions of customers that fly the Star Alliance network each year. To them, I take this opportunity to express our thanks. It is their confidence in what we have to offer that has made us the World’s Best Airline Alliance for the fourth consecutive year and an affirmation of our efforts and innovation to further improve their journey.”

Goh also paid tribute to the “vigour and dedication of the Star Alliance workforce, who consistently go to great lengths to make the customer journey more efficient, seamless and enjoyable every day. We benefit from the diverse strengths of over 430,000 proud employees across our 28 member airlines, which affords us the capacity to offer a holistically unrivalled passenger experience.”

The World Airline Awards were introduced in 1999 to provide a customer satisfaction study that was truly global. Travellers across the world vote in the largest airline passenger satisfaction survey to decide the award winners.

Star Alliance was the first airline alliance to receive the Best Alliance Award from Skytrax when the category was first introduced in 2005.

Over 100 customer nationalities participated in the latest survey with 21.65 million eligible entries counted in the results. More than 300 airlines are featured in the survey results.

Edward Plaisted of Skytrax said: "We congratulate Star Alliance for their remarkable achievement in winning the world's Best Airline Alliance title for the fourth consecutive year, and this underlines the fact that they are delivering a range of products and services to customers which are popular. Star Alliance have now won this coveted award ten times since 2005 and remain at the forefront of the global airline alliances. The other success for Star Alliance was receiving the award for the Best Airline Alliance Lounge, which was won by the Star Alliance Lounge in Los Angeles again this year.”

Complementing the Alliance awards, 15 Star Alliance member carriers received distinctions in 46 categories.

The full list of awards is available at:

https://www.worldairlineawards.com/a-z-airline-awards-winners-2019/

Photo: Star Alliance CEO Jeffrey Goh flanked by member airlines cabin crew

-Ends-

About Star Alliance:

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 19,000 daily flights to more than 1,300 airports in 194 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.

Further information can be obtained via:

Star Alliance Press Office

Tel: +49 69 96375 183

Fax: +49 69 96375 683

Email: mediarelations@staralliance.com

www.staralliance.com

Twitter @staralliance https://twitter.com/staralliance

Facebook: www.facebook.com/staralliance

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/staralliance
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/staralliancenetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/staralliance/

JOHANNESBURG. 18 June 2019. South African Airways (SAA) has noted with deep sense of disappointment comments attributed to the airline's pilots’ association, South African Airways Pilots’ Association (SAAPA) on the appointment of Ms Zukisa Ramasia as the acting Group CEO. These statements could hurt the airline more as the aviation industry is extremely sensitive to negative sentiment, especially around business continuity. 

The comments made are most unhelpful in the current climate the airline finds itself. Such statements are unnecessary, opportunistic and laden in hypocrisy.

Whilst the comments are professionally disparaging against Ms Ramasia, on close examination, they appear to suggest a vote of no confidence against the Board. This is an attempt to usurp the Board’s authority and responsibility and must be rejected.  

Ms Ramasia is the most senior and experienced executive at SAA and before her acting appointment, occupied one of the critical portfolios, the airline's global operations. In addition, she was a natural choice to act on occasions when the former CEO (Vuyani Jarana) was away. She was never found wanting. Those who criticize her have not even allowed her reasonable space to perform her duties and deemed it necessary to attack her after she has assumed her new role for less than a week. The claims about her lack of skills and therefore suitability are both baseless and premature.

The position adopted by SAAPA gives rise to the suspicion that they represent an anti-transformation agenda and this easily finds expression, even under transitional arrangements when SAA is moving with speed to find a permanent CEO. We are disappointed but not surprised.

SAA has created an enabling environment of engagement with all its internal stakeholders, especially labour unions. It is disconcerting that the framework and platforms for engagement have been ignored.

SAAPA’s comments are not helping but hurting the airline. They create market anxiety associated with leadership instability at the airline. The ultimate victim is the airline and all its ordinary employees caused by incessant assaults on the brand.

SAA has too many challenges and appeals to all concerned to desist from making threats of embarking on industrial action. We cannot condone anything that seeks to diminish the airline’s chances to compete and significantly hurt its commercial interests.

Management, labour and employees in general must avoid any distraction and focus on the implementation of the strategy. It is in the interests of all at SAA to work towards the recovery of the airline, and not its demise.

SAA calls on SAAPA to reconsider its stance and urges the rest of the labour unions to participate in constructive engagements and contribute towards finding lasting solutions for the airline.

-Ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:

Head of Marketing

Mr Themba Khumalo

Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597

Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353

Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Fort Lauderdale, FL (May 30, 2019) – South African Airways (SAA), the national carrier of South Africa and Alaska Airlines, the fifth largest airline in the United States, announced today that they have established a new interline partnership, which provides new and convenient flight options for both SAA and Alaska’s customers traveling between North America and Africa.  With immediate effect, customers will be able to purchase a single itinerary for travel on flights of both carriers in one simple transaction and enjoy connections via New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport and Washington-Dulles International Airport between Alaska Airlines’ expansive North American network and over 75 destinations in Africa served by SAA and its regional partners. SAA and Alaska Airlines will now offer more options for travel between destinations throughout Africa and key markets on the west coast of the U.S. including; Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland.

This new relationship will offer increased convenience to customers by allowing travel on one single electronic ticket and through interline baggage transfer upon check-in with either SAA or Alaska Airlines in the U.S. or Africa. New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport and Washington-Dulles airports are SAA’s North American gateways to Africa, and the new interline partnership with Alaska Airlines will provide connections and a smooth travel experience for travelers during their entire journey.

Alaska prides itself on delivering low fares with great value and genuine, caring service. Onboard, guests can enjoy food and drinks crafted with a range of refreshing, bright flavors inspired by West Coast ingredients. With Alaska's inflight entertainment, flyers can watch more than 500 movies and TV shows – all for free on their own devices, and enjoy free texting while in the air.

“This interline partnership will enable SAA and Alaska Airlines to expand their route networks to provide some of the quickest and most convenient connections between many west coast U.S. cities and some truly amazing destinations throughout Africa,” said Todd Neuman, executive vice president-North America for South African Airways.  “Customers on both airlines will enjoy SAA’s renowned South African hospitality and Alaska’s warm and gracious service throughout their journey from two award-winning airlines.”

Tickets can be purchased by visiting South African Airways’ website at www.flysaa.com, calling SAA Reservations at 1-800-722-9675 or contacting their professional travel advisor.

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most awarded airline, serves over 75 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its low cost carrier Mango. In North America, SAA operates daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Accra, Ghana and Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg. SAA has partnerships with United Airlines, Air Canada, JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, which offer convenient connections from more than 100 cities in the U.S. and Canada to SAA’s flights. SAA is a Star Alliance member and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-Star rating for 17 consecutive years.

South African Airways Media Contact

Todd Neuman

Telephone:  +1 (954) 769-5001

Email:     toddneuman@flysaa.com

JOHANNESBURG. 11 June 2019. South African Airways (SAA) would like to advise its customers and stakeholders that the airline has been served with a notice indicating that two of the recognized employee unions will be marching today to hand over memoranda of demands.  

SAA received the notification from the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) and NUMSA on 4 June 2019 informing the airline that their members will participate in the march during work hours. The march is expected to start at 11h00 and end at 13h00. Employees who will be participating in the march will be expected to return to their workstations soon thereafter.

SAA’s cabin crew members are represented in SACCA and NUMSA members work at SAA Technical and at the airports in South Africa.

“Since receipt of the notification from the employee unions, we have taken necessary steps and put contingency measures in place to ensure business continuity. We understand the march will be peaceful and will last for a few hours only. Notwithstanding this, our plans have been reviewed and updated to minimize the possible impact on our operations, if any,” said SAA spokesperson, Tlali Tlali.

SAA will keep customers updated of any further developments. There are no operational disruptions at the moment and all flights are operating as per published schedule.

Once in receipt of the memoranda, SAA will take all steps necessary to ensure that the matters raised by the employee unions receive attention and are responded to.

The Board and executive management of SAA met with the labour unions on 7 June 2019 to provide an update on the implementation of the turnaround strategy to stabilise the airline. At that meeting, the Board and executive management gave assurances to the unions that the airline’s strategic implementation was on track.

The memoranda will be received at SAAT by SAA Interim CFO, Deon Fredericks at approximately 11h45 and another one will be received at Airways Park at approximately 12h30 by the Human Resources General Manager, Ms Vuyi Raseroka.

“We will provide all possible and necessary assistance to customers who may need such support. Information on the status of our flights will be placed on all official channels of communication, including social media accounts and updated on a continuous basis,” concluded Tlali.

-ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:

Head of Marketing

Mr Themba Khumalo

Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597

Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353

Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

The Board of South African Airways (SAA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Zuks Ramasia as the Acting Chief Executive Officer for SAA as of Monday, 10 June 2019.

The Board has commenced a search, domestically and globally, for a permanent CEO with appropriate experience and expertise to stabilise the company and to oversee the implementation of the long-term turnaround strategy.

As a consequence of the change in leadership, Mr Vuyani Jarana will no longer serve as CEO, but will avail himself to provide transitional support to the Board and Management, when required, for the duration of his notice period.

Ramasia, who is currently General Manager for Operations, is an experienced executive with extensive aviation background. Ramasia will be supported by experienced executive committee members including Mr Peter Davies, the Chief Restructuring Officer, and Mr Deon Fredericks, the Chief Financial Officer.

"With the support of the shareholder, the Board and executive management of SAA are fully committed to the turnaround strategy,” said SAA Board Chairman JB Magwaza. “In that regard we are working closely with the shareholder to optimise the aviation assets of the state.”

The Board is also taking steps to strengthen the executive capacity of the group.

"We have appointed Adam Voss as the new CEO of South African Airways Technical (SAAT) and we are finalising the appointment of a permanent CEO for Mango. We are close to concluding other senior appointments and will make further announcements in due course," said Magwaza.

The Board acknowledges the critical financial circumstances confronting the company and is  in ongoing discussions with the Department of Public Enterprises, National Treasury, and financial institutions with respect to  putting in place a financial structure appropriate to supporting the long-term sustainability of the company. The Board and executive management met this morning with the labour unions to provide assurances that the turnaround strategy remains on track and will continue to involve all key stakeholders in rolling out the implementation of the strategy.

"In conclusion, the Board is committed to transparency and engaging with all stakeholders regarding stabilising SAA and the implementation of the long-term strategy.  We will be providing regular updates on progress." said Magwaza.

ENDS

THAI Smile Airways to become new Connecting Partner

Seoul, Republic of Korea – June 2nd, 2019 - Star Alliance today announced the plans for THAI Smile Airways to become the next Connecting Partner in its global network.

The Chief Executive Board of Star Alliance, meeting on the sides of the 75th IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul,  approved the application of THAI Smile Airways to become a part the Alliance’s Connecting Partner model.

The Connecting Partner model was established by Star Alliance in June 2016 to complement its membership model. 
In contrast to full membership in the Alliance, requiring building of commercial ties with all full members, the more regional Connecting Partner scope calls for commercial relationships with a minimum of three carriers only.

Customers travelling on an itinerary which includes a transfer between a Star Alliance member airline and a Connecting Partner will be offered standard Alliance benefits such as passenger and baggage through check-in. In addition, customers who have achieved Star Alliance Gold Status in their frequent flyer programme will enjoy premium customer benefits.

Once all entry requirements are fulfilled, which is expected by the end of the year, THAI Smile Airways will become the second Connecting Partner, joining Juneyao Airlines that entered in 2017. 

Connecting Partners allow Star Alliance to close network gaps that may exist of a regional basis. THAI Smile Airways will add 11 new destinations to the Star Alliance network, which already comprises over 1,300 airports in 194 countries. 

Jeffrey Goh, Star Alliance CEO said: “Three years after the introduction of the new programme, I am pleased to announce that THAI Smile is set to become the next Star Alliance Connecting Partner, which will support us in further strengthening our position as the leading airline alliance network. 

The partnership with our first Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines, has exceeded our mutual expectations and we look forward to providing our customers with even more choice through the addition of the THAI Smile Airways offer”.

Charita Leelayudth, Acting CEO, THAI Smile Airways said: “We are delighted that the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board has given the green light for THAI Smile to proceed with our proposal to become a Star Alliance Connecting Partner. This gives us the unique opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the strong Alliance network and at the same time pursue our own business model, providing superior air travel experience for the modern travellers at affordable prices.”  

The Bangkok based airline has begun to implement the necessary technology and commercial links which will allow THAI Smile to begin serving Star Alliance connecting passengers in 2020. As of then, the airline will be offering the privileges to qualifying Star Alliance Gold Status passengers travelling on connecting itineraries, including Priority Check-in, Thai Smile Lounge Access, and Priority Baggage Delivery.

-Ends- 

Images are available via:
https://we.tl/t-DdqS0a8eaq 
 
About Star Alliance

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 19,000 daily flights to over 1,300 airports in 194 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.

About THAI Smile Airways

THAI Smile Airways, a subsidiary airline of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI), is a regional airline operator for short and medium range flights. The airline operates using “WE” as an airline code and aims to become a favorite airline with the Heart of Thai in Asia. Unlike other carriers, THAI Smile is a ‘Full Service” airline being Regional Wings of Thai Airways. We provide excellence and quality services to meet the needs of short-haul travelers with an affordable price, while ensuring greatest comfort and convenience for a superior travel experience. The airline fleet consists of 20 aircraft in 2016 and operates using narrow-body fleet with operation bases located at Suvarnabhumi International Airport with more than 60 flights per day. And it has delivered overall services more than 16 million passengers from around the world. Products and services of THAI Smile are suitable for passengers travelling short distances. The airline has adjusted several dimension of its strategy to serve travelers with a tagine: Fly Smart, Fly THAI Smile. 
THAI Smile Airways operates in 10 domestic destinations: Chiang Mai, Phuket, Khon Kaen, Chiang Rai, Hat-Yai, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon thani, Surat thani, Narathiwat and Krabi. THAI Smile also provides cross-region services Chiang Mai and Phuket. For international routes, THAI Smile also operates 17 international flights to Yangon, Siem Reap, Penang, Changsha, Chongqing, Zhengzhou, Kaohsiung, Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Phnom Penh, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bangkok- Hong Kong and Phuket- Hong Kong with a plan to further increase the flight frequency of domestic and launch new international routes.

For more information, please contact: 
Star Alliance Press Office
Tel: +49 69 96375 183
Email: mediarelations@staralliance.com
www.staralliance.com

Johannesburg – 2 June 2019 - The Board of South African Airways (SAA) has accepted the resignation of Mr Vuyani Jarana, Group Chief Executive Officer. 

Since he joined SAA in November 2017, Mr Jarana has spearheaded the implementation of the long-term strategy to return the airline to financial and operational sustainability and position it to deliver effectively on its mandate. 

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Mr Jarana for his service and commitment to the airline. He contributed to returning confidence and credibility to the airline. We wish him well in his future endeavours,” said Mr JB Magwaza, SAA chairman.

Mr Magwaza said the airline will continue to implement actions to reduce SAA’s cost structure and make the airline more competitive domestically and globally. 

“In terms of his contractual obligations, Mr Jarana has committed to remain until the end of August to ensure an orderly transition of his responsibilities, which is a matter that the Board will consider. The Board of SAA will immediately commence the process of searching for a new Group CEO to take the strategy forward,” concluded Mr Magwaza.

More details on transitional arrangements will be announced soon. 

-ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson

Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Johannesburg, 25 May 2019 - South African Airways (SAA), the nation’s flag carrier, is proud to join the millions of South Africans at home and in the diaspora in celebrating 25 years of our democracy. The airline has marked the country’s milestone through its participation in what has become the signature flypast during the inauguration ceremony of President Cyril Ramaphosa as the 5th President of the Republic of South Africa.

The flypast was executed in a uniform formation and collaboration with the South African Air Force over the skylines of Loftus Versfeld Stadium today at approximately 12h35.

“As the airline we take pride in participating in events of this nature in recognition of democracy and social cohesion. This is an opportunity to showcase and register our appreciation to our government and the people of this country, the best way we know how – through flying in spectacular manoeuvres like we did today,” said SAA Spokesperson, Tlali Tlali.

SAA operated two of its biggest aircraft in its fleet, the Airbus A340-600. One of the formation crew members is SAA’s Chief Pilot, Captain Vusi Khumalo who himself joined the airline as one of the first four Black African pilots in 1994 when Africans were for the first time allowed to operate as pilots. Other members of the crew were Captain Andre Steenkamp, Captain Mark Dethian, Senior First Officer (SFO) Monde Gxoyiya, Captain Pierre Gouws, SFO Hennie Badenhorst and SFO Julian Whitelaw.

The crew that operated the flypast are especially trained and accredited to perform manoeuvres of this nature.

The SAA teams took off from OR Tambo International and through coordination with the South African Air Force, established formation over the skies west of Pretoria en route to the Loftus stadium. The flypast took place at an altitude of 300 feet and aircraft were moving at the speed of approximately 325 km/h ground speed, the lowest speed possible given the size of the commercial aircraft, which were operated.

“We are indebted to our partners and stakeholders who readily expressed willingness to make this phenomenal air display possible. Sasol, the chemicals and energy company who generously offered us jet fuel powered the aircraft that flew over the skylines of Loftus Versfeld. In addition, our aviation partners, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and the Air Traffic Navigation Systems (ATNS) also agreed to waive the parking, landing and navigation fees associated with this event,” Tlali explained.

SAA pilots who operated the flights also donated their time and offered their services as a contribution towards marking this special event.

The flypast today was reminiscent of that special and historic “Madiba moment” when SAA did a flypast more than two decades ago at the 1995 Rugby World Cup finals.

“We believe the symbolism of the flypast was as much a sign of pride by the airline and the peoples of South Africa as it was an effort aimed at continuously fostering the spirit of Ubuntu and unity nationwide,” concluded Tlali.
-ends-  

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Mr Themba Khumalo
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353
Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 3 April 2019. South African Airways (SAA) has launched additional 24 non-stop charter flights to the Maldives from April until October 2019. This decision forms part of the airline’s turnaround strategy – a pillar of which is to increase the utilisation of its aircraft. 

SAA was the first long haul international carrier to fly to Gan International Airport, situated at the southern tip of the Maldives 0.65 degrees south of the Equator in November last year during the holiday season. 

South African and international holidaymakers can make use of the special chartered flights following the conclusion of an exclusive charter agreement between SAA and Air Tour Operators (ATO) and the Ministry of Tourism in the Maldives, for non-stop flights between South Africa and the Maldives islands. ATO and SAA have combined to offer amazing value-for-money holidays to a pristine part of the world that has previously been extremely inaccessible.  The flights make use of Airbus wide-body comfort where SAA offers its customary Business and Economy class service.

“As part of implementation of our turnaround plans, we are constantly seeking new and smart ways to manage costs, improve our revenues and bring more value to our customers. Internationally, SAA is a strong and preferred brand, which is renowned for quality service and reliability standards.  These charters provide an ideal opportunity for us to optimise on aircraft utilisation.

“Holiday-makers can look forward to unrivalled luxury, pristine white sand beaches, and an amazing underwater world. The Maldives is undoubtedly, the obvious choice for a memorable holiday, especially over the cold South African winter,” says Tlali Tlali, Spokesperson for SAA. 
Numerous stunning island resorts feature within a 10 to 15-minute boat transfer from the airport. By flying direct to the southern part of the Maldives, SAA can reduce the flying time from 16 hours (via the Middle East), to only seven (7) hours. 

The Maldives flights follow on a number of other charters SAA successfully operated this year and charter operations increased dramatically over the past couple of months.
In May last year, SAA operated six charter flights carrying over 700 Liverpool football fans, return, to the UEFA Champions League final in Kiev, using three wide-bodied aircraft. These flights used aircraft that would typically have been stationed on the ground in Europe. Charters to Havana, Cuba, followed with several more to come this year. In addition, the airline has been trusted with sporting, corporate and VVIP government delegations to destinations across Africa, Dubai, Saudi Arabia the Indian subcontinent and China. 

It is important to note that given the high peak travel anticipated during the holiday season, these flights are expected to fill up fast. Bookings are already open.  

SAA will be selling the packages through the three SAA City Ticketing Offices (CTO) in Illovo (Johannesburg), Durban and Cape Town.

Cape Town
Tel: 021 418 1555
Team Leader: Janine Erfort

Durban
Tel:  031 250 1042
Team Leader: Leesh Lobo

Johannesburg
Tel: 011 537 2001
Team Leader: Ricardo Ahkee, or email us FaithSikakane@flysaa.com

Rates and details are also available on the ATO website. www.atotours.co.za 
For bookings, contact ATO +27 011 568 5162, or info@atotours.co.za 
-end- 

Maldives schedule effective 21 April 2019:

SA2950 departs at 23h50 on Sundays (21 April, 19 May, 16 June, 23 June, 30 June, 21 July, 11 August, 18 August, 25 August, 1 September, 22 September, and 13 October), to arrive at 09:50 the following morning in the Maldives local time. 

SA2951 departs at 13:00 on Saturdays (27 April, 22 June, 29 June, 06 July, 27 July, 17 August, 24 August, 31 August, 07 September, 28 September and 19 October) to arrive at 17h00 in Johannesburg. 

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali 
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Mr Themba Khumalo
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)81 555-2353
Email: ThembaKhumalo@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Johannesburg, 20 March 2019 - South African Airways would like to advise its customers of the additional restrictions for passengers transiting on the way to the United States of America. The restrictions relate to carriage of Liquids, Aerosols and Gels (LAGS) purchased in duty-free areas of the airports by passengers in transit on flights originating from Johannesburg, Accra and Dakar.

“In terms of the United States’ Transportation Security Administration (TSA), there will be additional security requirements for flights to the United States of America (USA) and these will be in the form of restrictions to carry certain specified items in the cabin under specified circumstances. These restrictions are imposed on all passengers in transit/transfer to the USA and will apply to both SAA flights to the United States,” said SAA spokesperson, Tlali Tlali.   

SAA has two flights daily to Washington D.C and to New York. The flight to New York is a non-stop operation, whilst the flight to Washington D.C goes via Accra and Dakar (four and three times a week respectively).  

LAGS may not be transported in cabin baggage (accessible property) of any passengers connecting to the USA from Johannesburg, Accra, and Dakar. This requirement does however not affect duty-free purchased at the last point of departure (Johannesburg, Accra, and Dakar).

For SAA to comply with this restriction, SAA’s Security Gate Search Teams conducting current gate passenger screening will verify any duty-free items purchased at upstream airports and will deny the carriage of such items on the flight, regardless of whether such items are packed in security tamper evidence bags (STEB’s) or not.

Passengers are advised to factor this in when planning to transit/transfer through Johannesburg, Accra, and Dakar to avoid unnecessary discomfort and/or possible loss of their items. 

“SAA apologises for any inconvenience that could result from the restrictions imposed. We trust that our discerning passengers will appreciate that from time to time there will be changes introduced in the industry by the regulators or by agencies of jurisdictions to which SAA operates. These measures are aimed at improving security and safety of all across the value chain,” explained Tlali.

“The restrictions will apply to all flights to the United States only, with effect from 25 March 2019,” concluded Tlali. 

-ends-

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Amsterdam, Netherlands – March 7th, 2019 – Star Alliance customers travelling from the Dutch capital can look forward to a new premium lounge experience at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The new Star Alliance Lounge will welcome eligible First and Business Class passengers and Star Alliance Gold Card holders as well as eligible paid lounge members of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Worldwide Club and United Club programmes as of March 8th onwards.

The lounge is located airside in the Departures 2, Schengen Area on the Panorama terrace level. Easy access is provided to the departure gates for Alliance member carrier flights to European destinations in the Schengen Zone*.

All Star Alliance branded lounges are designed to provide a unique local experience. Working with D-Dock, an Amsterdam-based architectural design firm, has allowed Star Alliance to infuse the local essence of Amsterdam into the new lounge. The elegant and contemporary design is inspired by the ever-changing Dutch skies and landscapes and features furniture creations and decoration pieces of original Dutch design.

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the lounge, and a mix of standard and USB power outlets ensure that customers can recharge their electronic devices.

Facilities include a luggage storage area, individual work booths, communal work table, dining area, bar area, relaxation area and a wine bar. Amenities feature a serviced bar during afternoon hours, beer on tap, a complimentary buffet with hot and cold meal options, flight information, business services such as printing and scanning, complimentary reading material and personal care amenities upon request.

The lounge can accommodate up to 150 guests and will open daily from 5.30am to 9.30pm, depending on the Star Alliance (Schengen) flight schedule.

“Star Alliance has set itself the overall goal of improving the customer’s travel experience. Offering a premium lounge product is an integral part of this strategy. Our new Amsterdam Lounge expands the network of Star Alliance branded lounges to eight and offers our customers flying from ‘De Dam’ a state-of-the-art lounge experience”, said Christian Draeger, Vice President Customer Experience, Star Alliance.

At Schiphol, Star Alliance has partnered with Aspire Netherlands (A Swissport company) who also developed and operates the adjacent common use Aspire Lounge, and Royal Schiphol Group, in creating the first dedicated alliance lounge at the airport.

“We are delighted to partner with Star Alliance in bringing its latest addition of Star Alliance branded lounges to the Dutch capital, where customers will be able to enjoy ASPIRE’s proclaimed hospitality and services. We believe that the combination of its intelligent design, comprehensive offering and local feel, the new Star Alliance Lounge will elevate customer experience to a whole new level.”  said Menno Biersma, CEO of Swissport.

Andre van den Berg, Chief Commercial Officer of Royal Schiphol Group, adds: “We are committed to providing our passengers with a carefree and enjoyable travel experience. The Star Alliance Lounge is an attractive addition to the offering at Schiphol airport, which contributes positively to our customer proposition and allows passengers to take joy in their journey already before they board their flight.”

The lounge primarily serves eligible customers departing on flights operated by Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Swiss, and TAP Air Portugal. Customers departing on other Star Alliance member carrier flights are also welcome but must take note that the lounge is located in the Schengen departures area before passport control. In total, 16 Star Alliance member carriers serve Amsterdam, providing non-stop service to 23 destinations in 18 countries.

Star Alliance offers passengers travelling in First or Business Class on any of its 28 member carriers or those holding Star Alliance Gold status or Paid Lounge Membership from Air Canada Maple Leafe Worldwide or United Club access to more than 1.000 lounges across the entire global network. In addition to member airlines’ own lounges and those operated by third parties, Star Alliance now offers eight Star Alliance branded lounges around the world located at Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), Los Angeles (LAX), Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Nagoya (NGO), Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG), Rome Fiumicino (FCO), and Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU).

Star Alliance lounges give guests a uniquely local airport experience with personalised attention. The Star Alliance Lounge LAX has been awarded by Skytrax as world’s best alliance lounge every year since 2015. Star Alliance was the first alliance to offer alliance lounges to better satisfy customer needs, primarily in major non-hub locations where it is adequate for member carriers to concentrate their lounge offering in order to offer a highly competitive product.

Moreover, the existing Star Alliance branded lounge in Paris Charles-de-Gaulle Airport will be refurbished in the coming months. The renovation will deliver a fresh and relaxing atmosphere and further enhance the travel experience of customers travelling from the French capital.

Photos of the Star Alliance Lounge Amsterdam can be downloaded from the following link:

http://xturnover.dk/staralliance/Star_Alliance_Lounge_AMS/public/

About Star Alliance:

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,800 daily flights to 1,317 airports in 193 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.

Further information can be obtained via:

Star Alliance Press Office
Tel: +49 69 96375 183
Fax: +49 69 96375 683
Email: mediarelations@staralliance.com
www.staralliance.com
Twitter @staralliance https://twitter.com/staralliance
Facebook: www.facebook.com/staralliance
LinkedIn:        https://www.linkedin.com/company/star-alliance
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/staralliancenetwork
Instagram: https://instagram.com/staralliance/

Fort Lauderdale, FL (March 6, 2019) – South African Airways Vacations® (SAA Vacations®), the leisure division of South African Airways, offering air-inclusive packages throughout Africa, is announcing the launch of their new website www.flysaavacations.com . The completely redesigned website features improved functionality, simplified designs and enriched content to help our travel partners and clients to choose or customize their ideal African vacation.

Created with the user’s experience in mind, the easy to navigate website includes many new or improved features, with enriched detailed content and photos on hotels, safari lodges, tours and attractions throughout Africa.  An additional feature includes the live chat options which lets clients chat with a team of Africa Specialists at their convenience. 

“The new SAA Vacations® website has been completely redesigned with customer insights in mind for ease of researching and customizing their perfect itinerary. The new site combines core functionality that veteran users have previously used, but with enhanced features for ease of designing that perfect vacation,” says Terry von Guilleaume, president of SAA Vacations®.

Visitors are encouraged to explore the new website and sign up for the South African Airways Vacations® newsletter so they will receive emails with travel content, special offers and destination highlights.

South African Airways Vacations® offers vacation options for all budgets to destinations throughout Africa, with experienced African Specialists available to assist with vacation consultation and planning.  Specialty-themed programs are on offer and provide unique experiences, whether clients are interested in safaris, culture, wine & culinary, romance, adventure and family multi-generational travel.  With departures available 365 days a year, travelers are afforded the flexibility to travel when they wish. For a complete overview of air-inclusive vacation packages to Africa, visit www.flysaavacations.com or contact South African Airways Vacations® at 1-(855) 359-7228.

About South African Airways Vacations®

A division of South African Airways (SAA), South African Airways Vacations® (SAA Vacations®) is highly regarded for its wide array of affordable luxury packages to Africa and uses SAA’s extensive route network to create packages for travel throughout South Africa, Botswana, Victoria Falls, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, Ghana and the Indian Ocean Islands. Offering more than 50 air-inclusive packages, which range from value to superb luxury. Our specialty-themed programs offer unique experiences, whether you are interested in safaris, culture, cuisine, romance and adventure. The program is managed and fulfilled by DSA Vacations, founded in 2001, and offers an extensive portfolio of tour programs with a variety of hotels, game lodges, and safari companies throughout Southern Africa.

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most awarded airline, serves over 75 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its low cost carrier Mango. In North America, SAA operates daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Accra, Ghana and Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg. SAA has partnerships with United Airlines, Air Canada, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines, which offer convenient connections from more than 100 cities in the U.S. and Canada to SAA’s flights. SAA is a Star Alliance member and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-star rating for 16 consecutive years.

Like South African Airways Vacations on Facebook here               Follow South African Airways Vacations on Twitter here.

Like South African Airways on Facebook here.                                    Follow South African Airways on Twitter here.

JOHANNESBURG. 4 March 2019. South African Airways (SAA) Voyager has launched its own SAA Voyager Mobile Application.  This means that the transactional experience for Voyager members is now in the palm of members’ hand with easy navigation whilst on the go.  

The current SAA Mobile App only displays a customer’s status and balance of miles, whereas the first release of the SAA Voyager App includes additional transactional functions beneficial to the customers namely; update of personal details, PIN reset, award requests, claiming of missing miles, converting miles and, being able to donate miles.  

The SAA Voyager App is an intervention aimed at enhancing Voyager members’ transactional experience with Voyager in the short term.  It is envisaged that once SAA relaunches its Mobile App in the latter part of this year, there will be integration between the SAA and SAA Voyager Mobile Apps, whereby customers will be able to transact seamlessly with SAA, be it for check-in, printing of boarding passes, making and/or changing reservations or transacting on their Voyager accounts. 

SAA Executive for Customer Loyalty, Suretha Cruse explains that one of SAA’s key strategies is to enhance the customer experience.  “Customer insights were a key driver in the design and development of the SAA Voyager App with our Africa-based members in mind, where 80% access the internet via their mobile phones,” she says.  

SAA Voyager was Africa’s first value-based airline loyalty programme, offering members miles based on the ticket price purchased, rather than the distance travelled.  The earning velocity of miles in the SAA Voyager programme remains the best in class on the African continent whereby members receive one SAA Voyager Mile per ZAR 1.60 spent, which counts towards the status of members. The programme also allows members to spend miles on any available ticket price for flights operated by SAA. With more than 67 partnerships globally, including the Star Alliance global network, the programme gives members access to more than 1 300 destinations in 190 countries. 

Not a SAA Voyager member yet, but want to register? Simply download the SAA Voyager mobile app onto your phone from the Apple App store or Google Play store, alternatively, contact the SAA Voyager Call Centre on 011 978 1234.  You can also send an e-mail to voyager@flysaa.com. 

Programme specific terms and conditions can be found on www.flysaa.com. 
SAA Voyager - Forever part of your journey. 

-Ends-
Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

About SAA Voyager
South African Airways (SAA) Voyager is a loyalty programme owned by SAA (SOC) Limited and serves as the frequent flyer programmes for: SAA, SA Express (SOC) Limited, and Airlink Proprietary Limited. Mango (SOC) Limited, SAA’s wholly owned low cost carrier, is a high customer value ranked redemption partner of the programme.

Launched during 1994, the programme offers its more than 1 million members the opportunity to earn and spend Miles (the programme’s reward currency) from 67 programme partners. The programme boasts more than 35 airline partnerships, including the Star Alliance global network which gives members access to more than 1 300 destinations in 190 countries.
SAA Voyager is the first revenue-based Frequent Flyer Programme on the African continent. All SAA Voyager members worldwide earn Miles for travel on flights operated by SAA, now based on the ticket price (base fare and carrier-imposed fees) rather than the distance travelled. Under the SAA exclusive earning structure, all members receive one (1) SAA Voyager Mile per ZAR 1.60 spent and the accumulation of Miles under this earning structure, counts towards Tier status. SAA Voyager furthermore offers a dual approach for flight redemptions: revenue-based (Dynamic Awards) as well as the classical flat-rate mileage (Star Alliance, FFP Alliance Airlines, Upgrade and JourneyBlitz) Awards.

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG, 01 March 2019 – South African Airways (SAA) has uncovered discrepancies relating to the Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) of one of its former pilots following an investigation into an incident involving one flight to Germany late last year. The pilot has since resigned and the airline has laid criminal charges against him and will seek to recover millions of Rand unduly expended and offered as reward to him on the strength of representations he made to the airline. 
     
On 6 November 2018, en route to Frankfurt, Germany, flight SA260, which operated on an Airbus A340-600 aircraft, encountered an atmospheric disturbance at high altitude over the Swiss Alps.  The disturbance put the aircraft into an over-speed condition. A recovery manoeuvre was performed to regain stable flying conditions. The aircraft landed safely in Frankfurt without injury or damage and was escorted to its parking bay by the emergency services.

The aircraft was found to be airworthy, loaded within weight and balance limits and all maintenance checks were up-to-date. 

SAA’s robust safety procedures dictate that the crew involved in a reportable incident of this nature be grounded and be subjected to a thorough and comprehensive assessment and re-evaluation. There are three concurrent investigations into the circumstances of the SA260 incident by SAA, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and the German authorities. To this effect, SAA is cooperating with the relevant independent authorities in this investigation. SAA will consider releasing details once the investigations have been concluded. 
 
During the course of its investigation into the incident, SAA uncovered that one of the pilots, a Senior First Officer (SFO) who had operated that flight, had made false representations to the airline and claimed that he was qualified and had an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL). He only had a Commercial Pilot License.  
 
It is an SAA requirement that all pilots obtain an ATPL license within five years of their employment as pilots at SAA. This is linked to Senior First Officer status and forms part of their conditions of employment as regulated in the SAA Pilots Regulating Agreement. Any pilot failing to obtain this license, will have their employment terminated with the airline. 

“We take note that at no point did the alleged fraudulent license present any safety risk to SAA's operation as the pilot in question was in possession of a valid Commercial Pilot License (CPL) and was the monitoring pilot and not the commander of the aircraft. The pilot had successfully completed all required safety training. However, we find it disconcerting that misrepresentations were made about the type of license that the pilot claimed to possess,” said SAA Spokesperson, Tlali Tlali. 
 
The Commercial Pilot Licence allows pilots to operate a Commercial Airliner and the SFO concerned had successfully completed all the SAA training required of him throughout his time at SAA.  
 
He was promoted and remunerated at a higher scale on the basis of his misrepresentation that he was in possession of an ATPL. 

“SAA has suffered actual financial prejudice and has opened a criminal case of fraud against that pilot. Necessary steps will be taken to recover the money unduly paid to him. These include salary, overtime and allowances,” commented Tlali. 

The ATPL process is administered by the SACAA as the examining authority. The current practice is that a pilot who has passed the ATPL examinations would bring the certificate to SAA for processing. We have now changed the procedure such that SAA will obtain results and certificates from the examining authority and in the case of ATPL the SACAA. 

“We have submitted all SAA pilots’ licensing files to the SACAA for verification and audit. On the basis of a sample that has been selected for audit, the SACAA has indicated that the verification process is progressing well and no irregularities were identified to date,” concluded Tlali. 

-ends-
 
For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

ACCRA, GHANA - 25 February 2019 - South African Airways (SAA) has enhanced connectivity for its customers travelling to, from and beyond the West Africa region following the successful completion of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Africa World Airlines (AWA), the airline’s Ghanaian partners.

The CEOs of SAA and AWA, Mr Vuyani Jarana and Mr John Quan, respectively, today officially signed the MOU at the Ghana Ministry of Aviation in Accra, Ghana.
Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda, the Ghana Minister of Aviation, officiated at the event.

The MOU allows the two airlines to enhance their relationship through synergies that include code sharing, franchising and any other related projects.

“As part of our turnaround strategy, we are constantly looking at ways of improving our customers’ travel experiences. This agreement gives our customers seamless connections from Johannesburg into more destinations in Ghana and other West African destinations.

“The agreement augments SAA’s popular and successful Ghana operations and offers customers a host of additional travel options in Ghana as well as further afield in the African West Coast region.

“As the leading carrier on the continent, our aim is to improve air travel connections on the continent through partnerships and this agreement with AWA goes a long way towards improving intra-African travel,” says Vuyani Jarana, SAA CEO.

“This agreement with South African Airways will help consolidate Africa World Airlines’ position as one of the leading airlines in West Africa. We are excited by the potential that this African partnership can deliver, and are confident that it will be a win-win relationship for both sides,” says John Quan, AWA CEO.

SAA and Africa World Airlines formed a relationship in 2015, which resulted in the commencement of the Accra to Washington Dulles flights.  SAA operates daily flights between Johannesburg and Accra, with four of the flights continuing onwards to Washington; and the other three flights continue onwards to Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.

SAA’s relationship with AWA has since grown from the original commercial co-operation into the new interline commercial agreement, which became possible when SAA finalised technology integration with AWA in November. The interline agreement allows the acceptance of each other’s customers and access to each other’s network.

SAA customers will fly from Accra on SAA operated flights and then connect to further destinations on flights operated by AWA.

Over the coming months the interline agreement will evolve into a code share agreement.

SAA customers will then travel on one ticket from Johannesburg to Accra, or from Washington to Accra, and onwards to a number of destinations such as Kumasi in central Ghana, Tamale in the north, and Takoradi in the west. SAA customers will also be able to connect from Accra to Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria, Freetown in Sierra Leone, and Monrovia in Liberia.

In turn, customers of Africa World Airlines travelling from Ghana, Lagos, Abuja, Freetown, and Monrovia, are able to travel on one ticket from any AWA point of origin and connect onto SAA international flights to either Washington D.C. or Johannesburg, or further on the SAA network.

With effect from April SAA increases the frequency from Accra to Washington to five flights per week. SAA offers the only nonstop flight between Ghana and Washington D.C. and convenient connections to / from over 100 cities across the U.S. and Canada through its Star Alliance partner, United Airlines via Washington, D.C.-Dulles.

-ENDS-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

About Africa World Airlines:
Africa World Airlines (AWA) is a Ghanaian airline based in Accra. AWA started operations in 2012 and now operates a fleet of 8 all-jet aircraft across 8 destinations throughout Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with services to Cote D’Ivoire planned to commence in April 2019. AWA is the only IATA member airline registered in Ghana, and maintains IOSA certification, the global gold standard for aviation safety.

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298    AWA Media Enquiries
Mr Richard Kyereh
Head: Commercial
Email: richard.kyereh@flyafricaworld.com
Mobile: +233 (0) 243 681-135
Office: +233 (0) 302 764-288

General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

A romantic trip to Africa makes for the perfect gift for your Valentine sweetheart

Fort Lauderdale, FL (February 1, 2019) – February is the month to express our love, so South African Airways (SAA), a Skytrax 4-Star airline, announces a sweetheart of a deal with new low fares starting from $799* roundtrip to South Africa just in time for Valentine’s Day. Low fares are offered from Washington,DC-Dulles International Airport and New York-JFK International Airport to Johannesburg, South Africa starting from $799* roundtrip (restrictions apply) and to Cape Town, South Africa from $855* roundtrip (restrictions apply). Travel on these sale fares is applicable this spring between April 1 - May 31, 2019 (Blackout dates April 16-April 30, 2019). Great low fares are also available to Dakar, Senegal and Accra,Ghana. Tickets must be purchased by February 15, 2019.

“A holiday in South Africa makes for a fantastic Valentine’s Day gift for that special loved one and these great low fares will allow travelers to fall in love with our beautiful country,” said Todd Neuman,SAA’s executive vice president, North America. “From the enchanting Cape Winelands, to a luxurious safari, or the breathtaking vistas that dot the country, South Africa is the perfect spot for you and your special Valentine. This is an opportune time to invite travelers to enjoy SAA’s affordable fares, world-class service and warm South African hospitality.”

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES FALL IN LOVE WITH SOUTH AFRICA FARES
PAGE 2

South African Airways is one of Africa’s most awarded airlines, honored with a 4-star rating for 16 consecutive years by Skytrax. South African Airways offers the most daily flights from the U.S. to South Africa with nonstop service from New York-JFK Airport and direct service from Washington, DC-Dulles Airport to Johannesburg via Accra, Ghana or Dakar, Senegal. Onboard, SAA offers an in-flight experience designed for pure comfort for long-haul travel. Our customers enjoy a spacious Economy Class cabin, a delicious choice of meals, a wide selection of complimentary spirits and award-winning South African wines, and generous checked baggage allowance. Also included are individual audio / visual entertainment systems that deliver an extensive menu of newly released movies, music choices, and games. Via our Johannesburg hub, SAA links the world to over 75 destinations across the African continent and Africa’s Indian Ocean islands.

To book this special or for additional information, travelers should visit www.flysaa.com, call SAA
Reservations at 1-(800) 722-9675 or contact their professional travel consultant. As one of the leading airlines in Africa, SAA also offers low fares to over 75 other exciting destinations throughout continent.

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most awarded airline, serves over 75 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its low cost carrier Mango. In North America, SAA operates
daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Accra, Ghana and Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg. SAA has partnerships with United Airlines, Air Canada, JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and American Airlines,which offer convenient connections from more than 100 cities in the U.S. and Canada to SAA’s flights. SAA is a Star Alliance member and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-Star rating for 16 consecutive years.

*RESTRICTIONS
Fares are valid for roundtrip travel and include all government and airline imposed taxes and fees. Valid for travel 4/1/19-5/31/19 (Blackout dates 4/16/19-4/30/19). The $799 fare is valid for travel from Washington Dulles (IAD) or New York (JFK) to Johannesburg (JNB). The $855 fare is valid from Washington Dulles (IAD) or New York (JFK) to Cape Town (CPT). Fares must be purchased within 72 hours of reservation being made, or by 2/15/2019, whichever is first.No stopovers allowed. Minimum stay: Must stay over one Sunday for fares to apply. Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights. Cancellations before/after departure: fares and carrier imposed fees (YR/YQ/Q) are nonrefundable. Date change fee: $300 plus any applicable fare difference. Administrative fees may also apply. Infant (not occupying a seat) discount - Pays 10% of the adult fare. Baggage and optional service fees may apply. Reservations made 7 days or more prior to scheduled departure may be canceled without penalty up to 24 hours after the reservation is made

Like South African Airways on Facebook here                                       Follow South African Airways Twitter here

Media Contact
Todd Neuman
Telephone: +1 (954) 769-5001
Email: toddneuman@flysaa.com

JOHANNESBURG. 25 January 2019. South African Airways (SAA) advises customers that the airline is likely to resume flights between Johannesburg and Blantyre, Malawi on Saturday, 2 February 2019.

On 18 January, SAA took a decision to cancel flights between the two cities after the audit process conducted at the Chileka International Airport in Blantyre confirmed that the airport was not fully compliant with minimum standards required for SAA to operate in line with its licensing conditions.

“We took steps immediately after we suspended operations to Blantyre and dispatched personnel from our head office to augment our staff in Blantyre to attend to the audit findings to ensure compliance with our licensing conditions,” said SAA Spokesperson, Tlali Tlali.

SAA put together a Corrective Action Plan and submitted it for consideration by its regulator, South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).
The airline, working together with the Malawian authorities as well as stakeholders such as the Malawian Ministry of Transport and the local municipality in Blantyre, implemented the required interventions to return the airport to expected levels for safe operations.
On Thursday, SAA notified SACAA that the remedial interventions have been implemented.
“We now await SACAA inspection of the airport and demonstration to them that we have successfully implemented required interventions as per our corrective action plan. Until measures put in place meet the satisfaction of SACAA, our operations between Johannesburg and Blantyre will remain suspended,” explained Tlali.
SAA operates a three weekly service between Johannesburg and Blantyre (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays).

“We understand that the inspection will take place next week Wednesday and we are optimistic that the regulator will be satisfied with the measures implemented. We would like to apologise to our passengers and customers for the inconvenience caused and trust that they will appreciate that the decisions to suspend flights and ensure compliance, were taken in the interests of safety for all,” concluded Tlali.
SAA will confirm the date for the reinstatement of the service SACAA has granted permission to resume flights. It is anticipated that flights will resume on Saturday, 2 February 2019.

South African Airways Contact details

•    Call Centre, South Africa
Johannesburg | +27 (0) 11 978 1111 or 0861 606 606

•    General Enquiries
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

•    Website
www.flysaa.com

•    Twitter (Primary)
@flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

•    Twitter (Customer Service)
@flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

•    Facebook
www.facebook.com/flysaa

ENDS.

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

JOHANNESBURG. 17 January 2019. South African Airways (SAA), the leading carrier on the continent, has made further strides towards improving customer experience across the SA Brand.

SA codeshare customers travelling on multiple sectors will be able to through-check their baggage to the final destination when booked on the SA code all the way, connecting between Mango, SAA and other codeshare partner operated flights.

The Mango codeshare now joins SAA’s other partner airlines, SA Express and SA Airlink which operate on the “SA” code, to allow customers to through-check baggage when their journey originates anywhere in South Africa.

“Our strategic aim is to continuously improve our service offering so that we can provide our customers with a service that is hassle free and more pleasant. This latest improvement takes away the inconvenience of picking up and re-checking one’s baggage when connecting in Johannesburg, and saves time allowing customers more leisure time before departing on the next leg of their journey,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA Spokesperson.

As an example, customers will be able to through-check all the way from Durban-Johannesburg-Frankfurt-Stockholm when travelling on the SA code on a Mango operated flight from Durban – Johannesburg, then on an SAA operated flight from Johannesburg to Frankfurt and further on the SA code on a Lufthansa operated flight from Frankfurt to Stockholm.

Note that all international arriving customers, with their final destination in South Africa, still need to collect their baggage at the first port of entry as per customs regulations. However, SA coded customers can make use of the conveniently located SAA and Mango re-check facility at the international arrivals hall for their onward domestic connections.

 “This latest customer service offering, reinforces seamless connectivity for our customers across the SAA brand,” concludes Tlali.

-ends- 

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. SAA is one of six airlines globally certified as IEnvA Stage 2, the highest and most comprehensive level in terms of environmental regulatory compliance and governance thereto.

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson

Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 15 January 2019. South African Airways (SAA) has appointed advocate Vusi Pikoli to its leadership team. He is currently an advisor to the Minister of State Security and was previously the National Director of Public Prosecutions at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). 

Adv. Pikoli joins SAA from 1 February 2019 as Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, reporting to SAA Group CEO Vuyani Jarana.

“The appointment of adv. Pikoli is as important as it is significant in demonstrating our resolve to bringing capacity to strengthen the executive team to execute on our turnaround strategy with much urgency. He brings a wealth of experience and is known to be a disciplined and strong administrator,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA Spokesperson. 
SAA has made it one of its priorities to cleanse the organization of corruption.

As the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Adv. Pikoli will be responsible for Risk Management and Compliance functions in SAA comprising of aviation and general legislation compliance. He will also be responsible for the overall strategic and operational responsibility for the integrated Risk Management Strategy for SAA.

“We are resolute about our commitment to restore and maintain good governance at required levels at SAA as this is one of the important enablers for the effective implementation of our turnaround plan,” concludes Tlali.

Adv. Pikoli holds impeccable credentials having completed BA (Law), LLB, LLM, Business Leadership Programme and is an admitted Advocate of the High Court in South Africa. He previously served as Head of the NPA from 2005 until 2007, as Director-General for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, and has private sector experience as a Director and Head of Forensic Investigations. 

He has aviation industry exposure through his involvement in reinsurance of aircraft fleet while working for an insurance company. 

ENDS. 

SAA Spokesperson

Tlali Tlali (Mr)

Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com

Mobile: +27 82 333 3882

Office: +27 11 978 2298

JOHANNESBURG. 18 December 2018. South African Airways (SAA), the South African flag carrier and Emirates, the world’s largest international airline are expanding their commercial relationship with enhancements to a codeshare agreement, opening up new destinations for both SAA and Emirates customers.

SAA and Emirates have signed an enhanced commercial partnership, which will see the relationship between the two carriers grow and strengthen their already successful codeshare agreement signed in 1997, across a wide spectrum of commercial and customer touch points.

“This agreement marks a significant forward step in the execution of our strategy and in transforming our business.  It will enable us to explore and leverage synergies between ourselves in a much more enhanced relationship of mutual benefit. Our route network and that of Emirates complement one another. The expansion of our commercial relationship will further strengthen key focus areas of the implementation of our turnaround plan,” says SAA CEO Vuyani Jarana.

“We remain deeply committed to our decades-long relationship with SAA, and the forthcoming expansion of our codeshare agreement is an exciting development and a significant milestone in our history in South Africa,” said Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline.  

“We have seen great success with the codeshare agreement, having enabled greater connectivity to both SAA and Emirates customers, by offering more choice, flexibility and ease of connections to a wide range of cities via Dubai and across more points in Southern Africa. Increasing the scope of our agreement underpins the strong bonds we share with SAA and our belief that this enhanced partnership will enable further success and gain to the airlines and their customers”.

In 2017/18, the codeshare agreement between SAA and Emirates saw approximately 90,000 passengers benefit from seamless travel and greater connectivity.  Emirates launched operations to South Africa in 1995 with flights between Dubai and Johannesburg. The relationship between SAA and Emirates spans over 20 years dating back to June 1997 with the signing of Emirates’ first ever codeshare agreement, whereby the SAA code started to appear on flights operated by Emirates to Dubai.

SAA is able to offer its customers seats on the eight daily flights operated by Emirates between South Africa and Dubai (four daily flights from Johannesburg including its iconic A380 aircraft, three daily flights from Cape Town and one daily flight from Durban).

The enhanced agreement means the codeshare will be expanded across both carriers’ networks.

The two airlines will work towards bringing more synergies in their respective route network, customer touch points, cargo services and flight schedules to enable seamless connectivity and enhance passenger flows. Connectivity will be improved by adjusting connecting times through Johannesburg, with a special focus on popular regional markets.

Included in the new agreement are plans to enhance the frequent flyer programs, SAA’s Voyager and Emirates’ Skywards programme.  Emirates became a Voyager airline partner in 2000, which means Voyager members are able to earn and redeem Miles on flights operated by Emirates; and similarly, Skywards members are able to earn and redeem Miles on SAA-operated flights.

The airlines will separately work on other areas of bilateral cooperation and an exchange of best practices across multiple airline functions.

-ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Emirates

Add contact details here

SAA General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

ENDS

South African Airways rejects claims on social media that it procures bottled water at a premium

Johannesburg, 7 December 2018 - South African Airways (SAA) disputes false claims on social media that the airline procures bottled water at a premium price.

“We have noted with concern false claims spread on social media and instant messaging platforms that SAA pays R17.50 for its supplies of bottled water, a rate considerably higher than the retail or market price. These claims are untrue, misleading and damaging.  

SAA procures bottled water at a rate lesser than the wholesale price (R2.75) suggested on social media platforms.

 “We challenge anyone making these averments to support them with evidence that confirms their validity.

“This seems to be a campaign calculated to undermine SAA’s efforts to transform itself as the airline makes progress and works towards becoming self-sustainable in three years. In addition, those behind these baseless claims, if left unchallenged, will hurt the business and its brand,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA’s spokesperson.

These claims were already made in December 2017 and rebutted at that time.

A company the size of SAA procures its supplies and products from a range of suppliers and manufacturers in substantial volumes and we must ensure that we conduct business in a manner compliant with our own supply chain policy, National Treasury regulations and other relevant legal prescripts.

“Price competitiveness is one of the most important considerations in evaluating bids and forms part of our criteria in any tender process. It would be reckless to procure this commodity at an exorbitant rate. In this case, we source bottled water from the bottling company and not from any third parties or a middle man,” explained Tlali.

Given the cutthroat competitive environment in which SAA operates, every effort is made to maintain a competitive edge to advance our commercial interests – and this includes a pricing advantage the airline must secure on its supplies.

“It would have been useful and responsible for those who put such baseless claims up for public consumption, to have taken steps first to verify or validate their information in order to avoid misleading the public and our stakeholders,” concluded Tlali.

At SAA, our focus is on executing the turnaround strategy in order to bring the airline to financial sustainability within three years.

SAA will consider its legal options on this matter as we now see a pattern developing on this misinformation campaign and this is creating disillusionment and has the potential to hurt our commercial interests.

-ENDS-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:

Head of Marketing

Ms Kim Thipe

Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597

Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040

Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

SAA recognized as “Best Airline in Africa” and “Best Business Class to Africa”  
 
 
Fort Lauderdale, FL (December 4, 2018) – South African Airways (SAA), a Skytrax 4-Star rated 
airline for 16 consecutive years, has been honored by Business Traveler magazine’s readers as “Best 
Business Class to Africa” and “Best Airline in Africa” in the magazine’s annual survey. This year marks the 
10th consecutive year that SAA has been selected as “Best Airline in Africa” and the 9th consecutive year 
as “Best Business Class to Africa” by the publication’s readers. Business Traveler is one of the leading 
publications for the frequent global business travelers.   

“We recognize that Business Traveler magazine’s readers are sophisticated jetsetters who expect 
only the finest products and services when they fly, so we are honored that they’ve named us best in the 
Africa for the past decade,” said Todd Neuman executive vice president for South African Airways in North 
America. “This is also tremendous tribute the employees of SAA that provide world-class service to these 
important travelers and a validation of our efforts to continually enhance and improve our service offering 
to the African continent.”   
   
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS HONORED AS AFRICA’S BEST BY BUSINESS TRAVELER MAGAZINE   PAGE 2 
 
The readers’ selection of SAA as Africa’s best is a reflection of the consistently high-quality service 
that retains the airline’s long-standing position as the preferred carrier for business travel to the 
continent. 

“For business travelers, the quality of their trips are measured from end-to-end,” said Dan Booth, 
editorial director of Business Traveler.  “South African Airways stands out in their service both to and 
within Africa thanks to their long history and cultural connections with the continent.  Our readers 
recognize SAA for consistently providing the best air travel experience in this important and growing area 
of the world.” 

As the leading carrier from the U.S. to South Africa, South African Airways offers the most flights 
with nonstop service from New York–JFK Airport to Johannesburg, and daily nonstop service from 
Washington, DC-Dulles to Dakar, Senegal, or Accra, Ghana, with continued service to Johannesburg. From 
its hub in Johannesburg, SAA together with its regional partners SA Express, Airlink and Mango, offers 
easy and convenient connections to more than 75 destinations throughout Africa.  SAA’s awarding –
winning Premium Business Class offers 180 fully lie-flat seating with duvet and full-size pillows, gourmet 
cuisine designed by renowned South African celebrity chefs, a wine cellar featuring some of South Africa’s 
finest vintages and extensive programming of on-demand audio and visual entertainment.  

For further information on South African Airways product and services, please visit 
www.flysaa.com, call SAA Reservations at 1-(800) 722-9675 or contact your professional travel consultant. 
 
About South African Airways 
South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most awarded airline, serves over 75 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its low cost carrier Mango. In North America, SAA operates daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Accra, Ghana and Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg. SAA has partnerships with United Airlines, Air Canada, JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and American Airlines, which offer convenient connections from more than 100 cities in the U.S. and Canada to SAA’s flights. SAA is a Star Alliance member and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-Star rating for 16 consecutive years. 
 
 
Like South African Airways on Facebook here     Follow South African Airways Twitter here  
 
Media Contact Todd Neuman Telephone:  +1 (954) 769-5001 Email: toddneuman@flysaa.com 

JOHANNESBURG. 4 December 2018 – If you think rising fuel costs and a tough economy have ruined your big plans to travel and see the world, SAA and Nedbank say you should think again. That’s because this partnership, which has been helping to realise the travel dreams of millions of South Africans for years, has just launched the new SAA Voyager Cheque Card – the first cheque card in the world that allows users to earn air miles, and makes redeeming them quicker, easier and more rewarding than ever before. 

According to Chris Wood, Executive: Card Issuing and Payments at Nedbank, the SAA Voyager Cheque Card is Nedbank’s response to growing demands from South Africans from all walks of life for a transactional card that allows them to earn SAA Voyager Miles, so that they can realise their travel aspirations. All of this without having to qualify for, or use a credit card. 

“Over the years, the SAA Voyager Credit Card from Nedbank has become one of the most appealing and easiest ways for South Africans to earn SAA Voyager Miles,” explains Wood “and the launch of the new SAA Voyager Cheque Card allows even more people access to this globally recognised frequent flyer programme, which can transport them to any destination through established partnerships.”

SAA Executive for Customer Loyalty, Suretha Cruse, explains that even if you are not a frequent traveller, the fastest way to earn miles is by using any of SAA Voyager’s Credit or Cheque Cards from Nedbank. Whilst most of our programme members prefer using their miles for flights, Voyager Miles can be exchanged for a wide variety of travel rewards, including stays at selected accommodation partners, car hire, exotic cruises, duty-free shopping, online gifting, and even health spa experiences. 

“We spent time in evaluating the Voyager model to gauge how best we could leverage our unique offering to our clientele. We found that the best way to meet our objective was to allow our customers to enjoy various benefits from joining just one loyalty programme,” she says. 

“In addition to being able to redeem Voyager Miles for flights, upgrades and various travel-related expenses, SAA Voyager Premium cardholders enjoy an enhanced travel experience thanks to preferential check-in and lounge access when flying on SAA-operated flights or SAA marketing flights where Mango is the carrier.
Best of all, and similar to the existing SAA Voyager Credit Cards, as an SAA Voyager Cheque Card holder, you don’t have to take that trip of a lifetime alone. We have specifically tailored our offering to include qualifying gold or premium cardholders, one companion ticket per year to a local or global destination depending on their card status and spend threshold,” says Cruse. 

Apart from the fastest miles earning rate in South Africa with steady accumulation on daily spend, there are many opportunities to earn bonus miles. “These bonuses include 2 500 miles on signing up to the programme, double miles on eligible spend for the first month after the account has been opened, bonus miles when reaching spend thresholds, and additional miles when paying for an SAA flight with your SAA Voyager Card,” she says. 
The Voyager Premium and Gold Credit cards will also be relaunched with the introduction of a stunningly unique card design, adding more exciting benefits such as preferential discounted flights on SAA operated flights and spend incentives. Nedbank has simplified the card application process as well. You can apply online for your SAA Voyager Card or at any Nedbank branch. The SAA Voyager Cheque Card can also be added to select Nedbank transactional accounts and is available to existing and new clients. 
Ends.
Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About SAA Voyager
Belonging to the extensive SAA Voyager partner network means that it is possible for the customer to earn and redeem Voyager Miles for flights to almost any destination on the planet. SAA Voyager miles can be earned or redeemed on SAA, SA Express, Mango, and Airlink flights as well as 27 Star Alliance partner airlines and eight non-Star Alliance partners.  SAA Voyager members are also able to use their miles to upgrade their flights on SAA and Star Alliance partner airlines or redeem their miles for in-flight purchases from FlySAA Duty Free.
About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. 

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298
SAA Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
SAA General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 4 December 2018. The leading carrier in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, South African Airways (SAA), is celebrating 20 years of non-stop operations between Johannesburg and Africa’s most populous city, Lagos, Nigeria.

Operations commenced on 4 December 1998 as SAA launched its first flight into Nigeria soon after the Bilateral Air Service Agreement between the two countries had been signed.  SAA has since brought several aircraft onto this route, from the initial Airbus 300 series, which had to make a technical stop en-route in Luanda to the Boeing 767 and the B747-400 and to the Airbus A340–600, which was then replaced by the current state of the art Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

SAA operates a daily service to Murtalla Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, consistently delivering exceptional turnaround times and excellent facilities including state of the art on-demand inflight entertainment system, increased economy and business class space and legroom for extra comfort.

“The Nigeria operations rank amongst SAA’s most profitable and we want to continue to support this important destination by continuously improving the overall customer experience and exploring new opportunities. This will enable us to retain our market position as the carrier of choice amongst the Nigerian travelling community. Our understanding of our customer profiles who travel in both business and economy class cabins, is one of the reasons we decided to deploy the A330-300 aircraft which responds well to the needs of this market,” said Pumla Luhabe, SAA General Manager Commercial.  

With its thriving economy, Nigeria is Africa’s economic powerhouse; Lagos is a high-energy city famous for its vibrant lifestyle, set against the backdrop of the Nigerian film industry, Nollywood, and their world renowned music industry bolstered by heavyweights such as the late legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti to the modern day Davido, DBanj, and Psquare to mention a few. Nigeria offers numerous commercial opportunities and a cultural experience like no other.

“Nigeria is among the top destinations to which we fly, and over the past 20 years SAA has transported over three (3) million passengers into the region and we will continue to listen to our customers to ensure we are providing them with the best possible service for continued loyalty. Reinforcing our legacy of exceptional service, SAA was recently voted Best Airline Staff in Africa at the World Aviation Awards,” concludes Luhabe.

In honour of this milestone, SAA rolled out a campaign that saw brand activation on social media, radio and print publications from September 2018 in the Nigeria region. Some of the activities include Voyager / Corporate dinner,  a Travel trade award function, SAA movie night for the Travel trade and to the children of the Arrow of God Orphanage (an Orphanage supported by SAA over the past 8 years), all leading to a celebration to be hosted in Lagos this December. 

-Ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:

Head of Marketing

Ms Kim Thipe

Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597

Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040

Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 2 December 2018. South African Airways, the national flag carrier and iconic South African brand, today joined the world in honour of Nelson Mandela, the first President of a democratic SA and Nobel Laureate, with a special fly-over at the Global Citizen Concert.

The fly-over was reminiscent of another special and historic “Madiba moment” when SAA did a fly-over more than two decades ago at the 1995 Rugby World Cup finals. The world watched as former President Mandela captivated the crowd and the world. The moment when Madiba walked onto the pitch wearing a Springbok cap and replica of the number six captain jersey was immortalised in the inspiring movie Invictus. 

SAA today again captured the crowds when the biggest aircraft type in its fleet, the Airbus A340-600, with a message “Global Citizen – Be The Legacy – Nelson Mandela Centenary 2018” on its belly, seamlessly executed the fly-over at approximately 13h35. In the cockpit were Captain Andre Steenkamp, and First Officer Bradley Bennetts, with Captain Pierre Gouws overseeing safety. The crowds cheered when the SAA aircraft glided across the skies over the excitement-filled FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, shortly before the official program for the day got underway. 

“At the time when the world faces major challenges of inequality, poverty and intolerance, “the global citizen initiative”, is a fitting tribute to Nelson Mandela’s contribution to Global Humanity.   SAA is proud to have played a part, however small, says Vuyani Jarana, SAA CEO.

The generous contribution of sponsors made the fly-over possible. SAA would like to express gratitude to Engen and Shell SA for sponsoring jet fuel, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) who have wavered take-off and landing fees, as well as SAA flight deck crew and technicians who volunteered their time.
The flyover is the highlight of SAA’s activities to mark the Nelson Mandela centenary celebrations. The airline introduced a campaign in his honour in celebration and recognition of his influence towards the course of humanity in general and for his selfless contribution towards the transformation of South Africa, its freedom, and democracy South Africans enjoy today.

About Global Citizen Festival

“The Global Citizen Festival is part of a movement to end extreme poverty. By contributing to charity acts on the website, including watching videos and signing petitions, fans can get free tickets to the festival. In addition, the organisers are striving to make the event "global" by live-streaming events in public locations. Since 2015, the goals of the festival have been closely aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include 17 tasks to end extreme global poverty by 2030”.

-ends- 
             
Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. 

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
SAA General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Fort Lauderdale, FL (November 20, 2018) – South African Airways Vacations® (SAA Vacations®), the leisure division of South African Airways, is offering a Thanksgiving sale with savings of $500* off per person on their array of affordable air-inclusive luxury holidays throughout Africa. Tremendous savings are available to breathtaking Botswana, charming Cape Town, mesmerizing Victoria Falls or a myriad of other superb destinations throughout Africa. From world class hotels in Africa’s top cities to luxurious safari lodges, this special discount applies to SAA Vacations® packages booked by November 27, 2018 for travel January 10-March 31, 2019.
"In the spirit of giving thanks, SAA Vacations is excited to offer $500* off per person on our portfolio of air-inclusive vacation packages to Africa,” said Terry von Guilleaume, president of SAA Vacations®. “With exciting and varied destinations throughout the continent, there are numerous vacation options for couples or the whole family to enjoy. The Thanksgiving savings offer an exceptional value, but travellers must hurry to book this limited sale.”
Travel packages customized by SAA Vacations® are inclusive of round-trip air transportation on award-winning South African Airways, hotel and/or safari lodge accommodations, personalized assistance in country throughout your journey, ground transportation, sightseeing tours, meals, and game park fees. With a highly trained staff who specialize in promoting Africa, no one knows Africa better than SAA Vacations®.
This special discount on South African Airways Vacations® air-inclusive packages is available for new reservations made by November 27, 2018. To take advantage of the $500* discount or for more information, travelers should contact SAA Vacations at 1-855-359-7228 or a professional travel consultant. South AfricanAirways Vacations offers holiday options for all budgets, with experts on hand to ensure clients experience the vacation of their dreams. For more vacation packages to Africa, please visit www.flysaavacations.com.
About South African Airways Vacations®
A division of South African Airways (SAA), South African Airways Vacations® (SAA Vacations®) is highly regarded for its wide array of affordable luxury packages to Africa and uses SAA’s extensive route network to create packages for travel throughout South Africa, Botswana, Victoria Falls, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, Ghana and the Indian Ocean Islands. Offering more than 50 air-inclusive packages, which range from value to superb luxury. Our specialty-themed programs offer unique experiences, whether you are interested in safaris, culture, cuisine, romance and adventure. The program is managed and fulfilled by Destination Southern Africa (DSA), which was founded in 2001 and offers an extensive portfolio of tour programs with a variety of hotels, game lodges and safari companies throughout Southern Africa.
About South African Airways
South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most awarded airline, serves over 75 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its low cost carrier Mango. In North America, SAA operates daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Accra, Ghana and Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg. SAA has partnerships with United Airlines, Air Canada JetBlue Airways, American Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, which offer convenient connections from more than 100 cities in the U.S. and Canada to SAA’s flights. SAA is a Star Alliance member and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-star rating for 16 consecutive years.
Like South African Airways Vacations on Facebook here Follow South African Airways Vacations on Twitter here.
Like South African Airways on Facebook here. Follow South African Airways on Twitter here.
*Terms & Conditions
Offer is per person based on required double occupancy. Valid as of November 20, 2018 for departures from New York or Washington, D.C. between January 10 - March 31, 2019. Offer does not apply to other departure cities. Offer cannot be combined with any other offers. Offer does not apply to groups of 8 or more passengers. Subject to availability and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Valid only for air inclusive packages. Offer excludes extension packages. Offer excludes business class packages. Offer is valid for new bookings only, are not retroactive and may change without notice. Baggage and optional service fees, cancellation charges and other restrictions may apply. Package includes all government and airline imposed taxes and fees.

Fort Lauderdale, FL (November 20, 2018) – South African Airways (SAA), the national flag carrier of South Africa, is offering tremendous savings with special fares from the U.S. to destinations in Africa for 7-days only over the Thanksgiving holiday. Low fares are offered from Washington, DC-Dulles International Airport and New York-JFK International Airport to Johannesburg, South Africa starting from $699.00* roundtrip (restrictions apply). Additionally, fares from Washington Dulles to Accra, Ghana start at just $729.00* roundtrip (restrictions apply) and Washington Dulles to Dakar, Senegal from $725.00* (restrictions apply) roundtrip. Great low fares are also available to Cape Town and Durban, South Africa. Travel on these sale fares is applicable between January 10 and March 31, 2019, with tickets purchased by Tuesday, November 27, 2018.
“SAA is offering its lowest fares of the year for travel in early 2019, so now is a great time book that dream getaway to Africa” said Todd Neuman, executive vice president - North America for South African Airways. “These low fares, combined with very favorable currency exchange rates in Africa, make the perfect holiday present for everyone. These great fares coupled with Africa’s majestic beauty, world-class cities, spectacular wildlife and rich culture will provide travellers with a lifetime of memories.”

JOHANNESBURG. 20 November 2018 – South African Airways (SAA) freight division, SAA Cargo, is the proud airfreight partner of The Love Quilt Project (LQP), the US-based non-profit organisation that helps vulnerable children in South Africa and the US.  

SAA Cargo, as part of the airline being a responsible corporate citizen, when contacted once again by LQP through its New York office, jumped at the opportunity to extend a helping hand to those less fortunate.  To assist, Cargo recently transported over 100 handmade quilts from the US on behalf of LQP.  Many of these quilts were handed over in Pretoria to children who are orphaned and many of them affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic on Saturday, 17 November 2018.  More quilts will be given to children in the Western Cape on Saturday, 24 November.

Justice Luthuli, SAA Cargo’s General Manager (Acting) says, “SAA Cargo has a long-standing relationship with The Love Quilt Project and is proud to be associated with an organisation that makes great impact on many children’s lives.  In 2016, we were honoured to have supported LQP by helping to bring the quilts to South Africa.  We consider it a privilege to have once again partnered with the organisation to bring hope and show love to these children through the beautifully handmade quilts.”

SAA Cargo, in partnership with LQP, has transported over 400 quilts over the past five years for the benefit of the children. 

Gretchen Ginnerty, the LQP President says, “LQP uses the healing power of love to change the lives of vulnerable and orphaned South African children, many of them affected by HIV and AIDS. American children send messages of love expressed through art to brighten lives and help heal these children. These messages are created on fabric squares stitched into beautiful quilts that are given to children in need. LQP teaches tolerance and compassion, and through this initiative, the children are taught about the healing power of love and its ability to positively impact the world”.  

This project is in line with our belief that, “Love is the common thread that binds us all together as humans.”  In a spirit of reciprocity, the South African children receive this same lesson before they receive their quilt and also create art squares for quilts to be given to American children mostly affected by HIV/AIDS.

-ENDS-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.  

About South African Airways Cargo:
South African Airways Cargo (SAAC) is a specialist division of South African Airways (SAA), South Africa's flag carrier and largest domestic and international airline company, focusing on freight movement worldwide. It makes use of the belly space of SAA's passenger aircraft and its dedicated Boeing B737-300 freighters. SAAC has devoted considerable resources to the improvement and installation of facilities to handle all types of cargo and its vision is to be the leader in air cargo services between Africa and the world. It has received various prestigious awards for service excellence. SAA Cargo is the proud winner of Best Cargo Airline - Africa 2017 received at Air Cargo News Awards and Air Cargo Brand of Year Africa 2017 received at the STAT Times International Awards for Excellence in Air Cargo.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

For SAA Cargo Information: 

Communications
Ms Thola Nzuza
Tel: +27 (0)11 978-5943
Mobile: +27 (0)83 376-9297
Email: TholaNzuza@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 11 November 2018 - South African Airways (SAA) would like to assure all its stakeholders, customers and suppliers of business continuity after government clarified its position that the airline will not be shut down or sold. 

This means, SAA will continue to render services and honour its obligations towards its customers, partners and suppliers. 

Government as a shareholder has not communicated any change in strategy and approach on the future of SAA. 

On Monday, 5 November 2018, the shareholder representative, Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, clarified government’s position that whilst the airline would continue to operate, there was heightened expectation for SAA to execute on its strategy to restore the airline financially and operationally, with more commitment and a greater sense of urgency. He indicated that the public was losing patience with SAA. Minister Gordhan urged all at SAA to work together with government to prove that SAA can be turned into a good business again. 

SAA also welcomes the assurance by President Cyril Ramaphosa in parliament on Tuesday last week that the airline will remain in business, noting that government is considering various options, which include the possibility of an equity partner. 

SAA’s strategy implementation is on track and there are ‘green shoots’ that indicate positive results on initiatives already implemented, particularly in the airline’s route network. This follows the implementation of capacity adjustment in the domestic market and network optimization in the regional and international markets. 

Whereas there is more work to be done to implement the strategy, we are encouraged by the progress we are making to turn the company around. 

The airline’s position is that it will take three years to bring the company to a break-even position. However, on the strength of the airline’s current interventions, as well as monitoring how these are implemented, the shareholder decided to provide part of required financial assistance to the airline. 

SAA is an airline of global reach and a strong brand, with presence and operations in all continents. Its suppliers, partners and customers are in various markets across the world and are sensitive to any sentiments that may cast doubt about the future of the airline. 

There is every resolve to address long-standing legacy issues, to improve the performance of the business, to regain its market share and to provide its customers continued and improved service. 

-ends- 

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. 

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson

Mr Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

SAA Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing

Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
SAA General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

South African Airways assures customers and suppliers of business continuity following government clarification about its future 
JOHANNESBURG. 11 November 2018 - South African Airways (SAA) would like to assure all its stakeholders, customers and suppliers of business continuity after government clarified its position that the airline will not be shut down or sold. 
This means, SAA will continue to render services and honour its obligations towards its customers, partners and suppliers. 
Government as a shareholder has not communicated any change in strategy and approach on the future of SAA. 
On Monday, 5 November 2018, the shareholder representative, Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, clarified government’s position that whilst the airline would continue to operate, there was heightened expectation for SAA to execute on its strategy to restore the airline financially and operationally, with more commitment and a greater sense of urgency. He indicated that the public was losing patience with SAA. Minister Gordhan urged all at SAA to work together with government to prove that SAA can be turned into a good business again. 
SAA also welcomes the assurance by President Cyril Ramaphosa in parliament on Tuesday last week that the airline will remain in business, noting that government is considering various options, which include the possibility of an equity partner. 
SAA’s strategy implementation is on track and there are ‘green shoots’ that indicate positive results on initiatives already implemented, particularly in the airline’s route network. This follows the implementation of capacity adjustment in the domestic market and network optimization in the regional and international markets. 
Whereas there is more work to be done to implement the strategy, we are encouraged by the progress we are making to turn the company around. 
The airline’s position is that it will take three years to bring the company to a break-even position. However, on the strength of the airline’s current interventions, as well as monitoring how these are implemented, the shareholder decided to provide part of required financial assistance to the airline. 
SAA is an airline of global reach and a strong brand, with presence and operations in all continents. Its suppliers, partners and customers are in various markets across the world and are sensitive to any sentiments that may cast doubt about the future of the airline. 
There is every resolve to address long-standing legacy issues, to improve the performance of the business, to regain its market share and to provide its customers continued and improved service. 
-ends- 

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. 
For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298
SAA Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
SAA General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Caption of ribbon cutting (left to right): Lusanda Jiya SAA GM Group Corporate Affairs, Dr Mebelo Muyapekwa Principal Standards Officer: Ministry of Education Zambia, Sameer Adam Director: Sales Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, Mr Olengcy Malumbe Headmaster: Shungu Namutitima Primary and Secondary School and Sam Munda Sales Director SITA.

South African Airways Livingstone Computer Handover

SAA Donates Fully Equipped Computer Lab to Livingstone School to further STEM Learning Opportunities

LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA – 12 October 2018:  South African Airways (SAA) has donated 15 computers to Shungu Namutitima Primary and Secondary School in Livingstone, Zambia yesterday.  SAA partnered with Bombardier, a multinational aerospace and transportation company, to present the school with the much-needed computer laboratory. 

The school in Zambia consists of 1, 222 learners all ranging between grades 1 and 12.  The computer laboratory was presented fully equipped with computers, modems, an internet connection, as well as training for the teachers on duty at the laboratory.

“Nelson Mandela once said that ‘education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world’. In carrying Madiba’s legacy in this, the centenary year honouring his life, we are fostering and encouraging education and knowledge through technology, and believe that donating a computer lab to the school was the best choice for knowledge and skills transfer,” said Tlali Tlali, SAA Spokesperson.    

The initiative formed part of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa’s (AASA) 48th Annual General Assembly, which focusses on customer service. 

The assembly, which takes place at the AVANI Victoria Falls Resort, also in Livingstone, Zambia, from 11 to 14 October, attracted around 300 delegates, and comprised leading airline industry executives and government policy makers from Southern Africa’s airlines, airports, air navigation services, regulatory bodies, as well as aircraft and engine manufacturers, ground handling service providers, and associated businesses.

SAA has been flying the Livingstone, Zambia route since 2005, and was the host airline of this year’s AASA General Assembly.

-ends- 

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. 

About Bombardier

With over 69, 500 employees across four business segments, Bombardier is a global leader in the transportation industry, creating innovative and game-changing planes and trains. Our products and services provide world-class transportation experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety.
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in 28 countries across the segments of Transportation, Business Aircraft, Commercial Aircraft and Aerostructures and Engineering Services. Bombardier shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, Bombardier posted revenues of $16.2 billion US. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier..

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Bombardier
Nathalie Scott
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft
Office: +1 416-375-3030 
Email: Nathalie.Scott@aero.bombardier.com 
Website: www.bombardier.com

SAA Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
SAA General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

DURBAN, 8 October 2018: South African Airways’ (SAA) In-flight Magazine Sawubona has for the fourth year in a row, won the award for ‘Africa’s Leading In-Flight Magazine’ at the World Travel Awards™ Gala Dinner, held at the Durban International Convention Centre. 
Voted for by travel and tourism professionals worldwide, the World Travel Awards™ serve as an accolade to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry, including in-flight entertainment.  

Sawubona is the airline’s multi-award winning in-flight magazine, packed to the brim with inspirational and vibrant travel, business and lifestyle content to keep travellers entertained while they take to the skies. The magazine, which is distributed on all of SAA’s flights, domestic, regional and international, has a large circulation of almost 70 000 and an estimated reach of 700 000 as well as an online presence. 

“This World Travel Award and every other service excellence award SAA receives, serve as a significant motivation for employees to keep doing their best to stand out. They are a source of encouragement, reminding us to keep on the lookout for ways to improve the travel experience of the millions of customers who choose to fly with SAA. We are proud of the Sawubona team and are delighted that the hard work they put into the magazine has been acknowledged.

“We extend our sincere gratitude to our outgoing publishers, Ndalo Media, for their sterling contribution and partnership throughout the past five years, which led Sawubona to become an award-winning inflight magazine with compelling content,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA Spokesperson. 
Mikateko Media (Pty) Ltd are the new publishers who have taken over and their first edition went out in October 2018. This is after the conclusion of a tender process earlier this year. 
Read the October edition by clicking on this link - http://saasawubona.com/.

-ends-
Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. 

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson

Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa 

JOHANNESBURG. 04 October 2018. South African Airways (SAA) today announced the appointment of Mr. Deon Fredericks from Telkom as SAA’s new Interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO). 

The appointment is effective from 15 October 2018 and he is on secondment from Telkom for a 12-month period.

“We welcome the appointment of Mr. Fredericks to ensure that SAA’s strategic objective of transforming the business into a financially sustainable aviation group is achieved,” said Mr. JB Magwaza, Chairperson SAA Board of Directors.

Mr. Fredericks is currently Telkom’s Chief Investment Officer, and was previously Chief Financial Officer from September 2014 to July 2018. A Chartered Accountant, CA (SA), a CIMA-qualified Chartered Global Management Accountant with an honours degree in Accounting and Business Management, Mr. Fredericks has over 30 years’ experience working in blue-chip organizations.

Mr. Fredericks takes over from Mr. Robert (Bob) Head whose contract as SAA Interim CFO ended on 30 September. 

“We would like to thank Bob for his contribution during a difficult time for the airline and wish him well in his future endeavours,” said Mr. Magwaza.

SAA will, in the ensuing twelve-month period, initiate and finalize the recruitment process for the appointment of its permanent CFO.

-Ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. 
 
For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 26 September 2018.  South African Airways (SAA) is on track with its turnaround strategy with quarter one results showing that the company is ahead of the plan in its trading performance.

We have always maintained that it will take us until 2021 to break even. This means that our costs will remain higher than our revenue until we reach the breakeven point. We continue to implement initiatives to drive costs down and improve revenue as part of the turnaround strategy. The quarter one results, reflect the Board and management’s commitment to turn the airline around despite the challenges.

The company currently has access to financial facilities to support its working capital requirements. The Board and the shareholder are working around the clock to find a lasting financial solution to the company’s capital requirements.

SAA continues to honour its obligations to all its travelling customers, suppliers and other creditors and will not file for bankruptcy. The company’s airline operations remain solid with its On-Time Performance ranking well amongst its peers. Quarter one results show material improvement in the trading performance of the company with some of the routes delivering positive gross profit margins for the first time in more than a decade, proof that the initiatives implemented are beginning to yield results.

The airline has made some headway in the implementation of its turnaround plan to transform SAA into a commercially viable entity, which must have the ability to sustain itself financially and remain competitive operationally. 

At a recently held Board strategy session on 11 – 12 September 2018, the executive management presented to the Board a comprehensive strategy update reflecting on the present-day strategy execution achievements and challenges as well as the road map and options for the outlook of the business. No decisions have been taken to dispose of any SAA entities or assets at this stage. Options were merely presented to the Board for consideration.

The full and meaningful implementation of the turnaround plan, which for the first time has been fully costed, will depend on the realisation of certain enablers. These include meeting the funding requirements of R21.7 billion over a three-year implementation cycle, aggressively containing costs through smart procurement and optimal organisation design, SAA Technical (SAAT) transformation to bring more efficiencies as well as revenue optimisation and network rationalisation.

Since the implementation of one of the key initiatives on revenue optimisation and network rationalisation, SAA has seen encouraging positive financial performance for Quarter one of this financial year. These results are borne out of network changes and capacity redistribution SAA implemented earlier this year in its route network.

The shareholder is aware of the funding requirements and the matter is currently under consideration. There are ongoing engagements with the lenders who in 2017 agreed to grant SAA conditional extension on its maturing loans, which are now due in March 2019. In April 2018 the lenders extended a R5 billion bridge facility to SAA.

We remain focused on implementing the turnaround plan and we are seeing positive results.

-ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:

Head of Marketing

Ms Kim Thipe

Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597

Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040

Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000

Website: www.flysaa.com

Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa

Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 21 September 2018.  South African Airways (SAA) in partnership with SA Tourism (SAT) have once again put together some amazing Sho’t Left flight and travel deals to ensure South Africans have the opportunity to explore their beautiful country. 

From 24 - 30 September local travellers will have access to a number of reduced SAA flights, for travel until 31 January 2019, and accommodation and tour packages to various popular destinations across the country as part of SAT’s Sho’t Left Travel Week.

“The Sho’t Left flight and travel deals will do much to encourage those that have always wanted to explore the beauty and cultural heritage of the country to do just that.

“SAA together with SA Tourism want to make local travel accessible to everyone during September, being both Heritage and Tourism Month. While many don’t consider travel at this time of year, going forward we hope to instil a culture of travel among South Africans in celebration of the scenic splendour, diverse culture and rich heritage of our incredible country and nation,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA spokesperson.

CEO SA Tourism, Sisa Nthona says: “Our aim is to target all South Africans and their families who want to see more of the country. We also hope to make people realise that tourism isn’t just for overseas visitors and that local travel is a lot easier and more affordable than many people think.”

The SAA flights and other offerings have been specifically designed to ensure there is something to suit every taste.
“The holiday packages provide affordable SAA flights to nearly all major local cities including Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth, with all package deals having been categorised by province, destination type, or getaway to allow South Africans to book their ideal break. 

“For those seeking to explore Durban, it’s the perfect opportunity to fly to and experience the city’s buzzing nightlife. Watch the sunset over the ocean with a cocktail in hand before enjoying dinner at one of the many restaurants on the Florida Road stretch. The more energetic can also dance the night away in one of the city’s top night clubs. 

“Alternatively, those looking for a bit more of a seaside adventure can book return SAA flights, and then opt for one of the many popular daytime activities available such as a boat cruise, riksha bus tour, a visit to Ushaka Marine, or a trip in the Moses Mabhida sky car. All in all, there truly is something for everyone this Heritage and Tourism Month with all flights and holiday deals on offer at reduced rates.

“Ultimately domestic tourism is the main source of revenue for every tourism industry around the world, and going forward we are hoping Sho’t Left Travel Week will bring about an ever-increasing influx of South Africans travelling purely for leisure,” concludes Tlali.

To view and book the travel deals on offer go to www.flysaa.com.
-ends- 

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. 
 
For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa
 
 

JOHANNESBURG. 12 September 2018. Leading carrier in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, South African Airways (SAA), is excited to announce a brand new partnership for SAA Voyager, Africa’s most popular frequent flyer loyalty programme with NetFlorist, South Africa’s largest floral gifting service. 

Voyager members will now be able to use their SAA Voyager Miles to pay for that next bunch of flowers, quirky personalised gift or box of chocolates off the e-commerce platform. In addition to this, the first five SAA Voyager members who spend their miles at NetFlorist, will each win a R500 gift voucher to spend on their next NetFlorist purchase.

With Spring officially here, know that, for as little as 5 000 Voyager miles (equivalent to R200), members can surprise loved ones with flower arrangements, bespoke jewellery, scrumptious hampers, personalised gifts including gowns and wine, or even cupcake treats from the NetFlorist Bakery.

“We welcome NetFlorist as a Voyager partner. We continue to look for opportunities that will bring more value to our customers and improve on our offering,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA Spokesperson.

SAA Voyager is Africa’s first revenue based airline loyalty programme, which offers members miles based on the ticket price purchased, rather than the distance travelled. The programme also allows members to spend miles on any available ticket price for flights operated by SAA. With more than 67 partnerships, including the Star Alliance global network, the programme gives members access to more than 1 300 destinations in 190 countries. 

Everybody loves to travel and appreciates a surprise gift, especially when it comes from NetFlorist’s massive collection - so there is all the reason to join and share the love. Voyager members earn one Voyager Mile for every R1.60 spent on any SAA operated flight, so the only thing left to do is plan what to spend those miles on next!  With SAA Voyager, your currency is miles and your rewards, exceptional. 

Not a SAA Voyager member yet, but want to register? Contact the SAA Voyager Call Centre on 011 978 1234 or email: voyager@flysaa.com. Programme specific terms and conditions can be found on www.flysaa.com. SAA Voyager - Forever part of your journey. 

-Ends-
Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers. 

About SAA Voyager
South African Airways (SAA) Voyager is a loyalty programme owned by SAA (SOC) Limited and serves as the frequent flyer programmes for: SAA, SA Express (SOC) Limited, and Airlink Proprietary Limited. Mango (SOC) Limited, SAA’s wholly owned low cost carrier, is a high customer value ranked redemption partner of the programme.

Launched during 1994, the programme offers its more than 1 million members the opportunity to earn and spend Miles (the programme’s reward currency) from 67 programme partners. The programme boasts more than 35 airline partnerships, including the Star Alliance global network which gives members access to more than 1 300 destinations in 190 countries.

SAA Voyager is the first revenue-based Frequent Flyer Programme on the African continent. All SAA Voyager members worldwide earn Miles for travel on flights operated by SAA, now based on the ticket price (base fare and carrier-imposed fees) rather than the distance travelled. Under the SAA exclusive earning structure, all members receive one (1) SAA Voyager Mile per ZAR 1.60 spent and the accumulation of Miles under this earning structure, counts towards Tier status. SAA Voyager furthermore offers a dual approach for flight redemptions: revenue-based (Dynamic Awards) as well as the classical flat-rate mileage (Star Alliance, FFP Alliance Airlines, Upgrade and JourneyBlitz) Awards.

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com 
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa
 

JOHANNESBURG. 5 September 2018. South African Airways (SAA) has increased frequency to Luanda, Angola, creating a seamless travel experience for customers travelling to various destinations on the SAA network on all continents. SAA’s African  and Asian destinations in particular will have an increased connectivity allowing for seamless travel.

The two extra weekly flights will commence with effect from 9 September 2018, bringing SAA’s total weekly operations between Johannesburg and Luanda to four flights per week.

SAA has been operating to Luanda for more than 30 years, making it one of the leading airlines in Angola. The route is very popular with not only Angolans, but with most of the guests travelling from and to Luanda and then connecting on SAA’s route network to various destinations such as Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, New York, Washington and the entire Southern African Development Community. SAA operates to all the major cities such as Lusaka, Maputo, Windhoek, Harare, Mauritius, Lilongwe and Blantyre.

Nairobi, Entebbe and Dar Es Salaam also feature prominently on the travel itineraries of our guests on this route.
Both narrow and wide body aircraft (A330-200, A330-300 and A320) operate on this route. The additional frequencies that take effect from 9 September will be operated with the A320 two class configured aircraft.

“As part of our Africa growth strategy, we are enhancing our footprint on the continent by expanding our route network to enable seamless connections for our customers. We are especially pleased to offer our customers from Angola more travel options to connect them to the world through Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport. East and Southern Africa, and the rest of the continent and the world are easily within reach,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA Spokesperson.

SAA remains committed to living up to the promise of “Bringing the World to Africa. And taking Africa to the World.”

SAA’s Network Development Plan is aligned to the Alliance Strategy by strengthening its position in sub-Saharan Africa through forming new partnerships. SAA customers can also fly with TAAG Angola Airlines, as the two carriers code share between Johannesburg and Luanda as well as Cape Town and Luanda.

TAAG Angola Airlines code-shares with SAA on its direct services between Johannesburg and Luanda, including destinations such Harare and Lusaka on the South African Airways network.
-ends-

Current flight schedule

The two added flights will operate as follows: 9 September – 27 October 2018 OK

Added flight schedule 28 October 2018 – 30 March 2019 OK

Added flight schedule 31 March 2019 – 26 October 2019 OK

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs

About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

Book by September 30, 2018 for Complimentary Upgrades to Elegant Five- Star Accommodations at the Taj Cape Town and Becks Safari Lodge

Fort Lauderdale, FL (August 28, 2018) – South African Airways Vacations® (SAA Vacations®), the leisure division of South African Airways, has announced complimentary luxury upgrades to five-star accommodations in Cape Town and in the Karongwe Private Game Reserve for travelers who book the “Best of South Africa” package by September 30, 2018. Starting at $4,499* per person, the “Best of South Africa” package upgrade special includes five-star accommodations in Cape Town at the Taj Cape Town located in the heart of the “Mother City” and the exclusive Becks Safari Lodge in Karongwe Private Game Reserve. In addition to accommodations, the “Best of South Africa” package includes roundtrip air transportation from New York-JFK Airport or Washington-Dulles on South African Airways, airport transfers in South Africa, a Cape Peninsula tour, Winelands tour, safari activities and airport meet and greet services by a SAA Vacations representative.

The Taj Cape Town is a luxury hotel perfectly situated city center and conveniently located to trendy shops, restaurants and exciting nightlife in the “Mother City”. The hotel boasts 176 rooms, each individually appointed with classical furnishings, flat-screen televisions and marble bathrooms with rain showers and an oversized bathtub. Guests will enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi, spa access, and free shuttles to Cape Town’s Victoria and Alfred waterfront.

Becks Safari Lodge combines luxurious living with innovative design nestled within the South African bushveld. Each air-conditioned safari suite boasts views of either the Makhutswi River or a popular waterhole, providing excellent game viewing. Amenities include private verandahs, premium bedding, coffee and tea facilities, and an infinity pool. Daily game drives in open safari vehicles provide the perfect opportunity to view South Africa’s “Big 5” followed by evening sundowners while watching the sunset over the magnificent Drakensberg Mountains.

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS VACATIONS® ANNOUNCES FREE FIVE STAR LUXURY UPGRADES ON “BEST OF SOUTH AFRICA” PACKAGE
PAGE 2
“Our Best of South Africa package is one of our most popular vacation experiences,” said Terry von Guilleaume, president of South African Airways Vacations®. “It includes Cape Town, a Winelands tour and a safari adventure to view Africa’s Big Five wildlife, making it the ideal introduction to South Africa. We are enhancing this package now by offering a free upgrade to 5-star accommodations if booked by the end of September.”

The package details are:
“The Best of South Africa” Upgrade Promotion– from $4,499*
 Roundtrip international economy class air transportation from New York-JFK Airport or Washington Dulles to Cape Town on South African Airways
 4-nights’ accommodation at the five-star Taj Cape Town, including breakfast
 3-nights’ accommodation at the five-star Becks Safari Lodge, including all meals
 Daily breakfast in Cape Town
 Full day Cape Peninsula tour
 Cape Winelands tour
 Twice daily safari game drives
 Airport transfers in South Africa with meet and greet by South African Airways Vacations’ representative upon arrival in South Africa

This five-star upgrade is available for new reservations made by September 30, 2018. To take advantage of the complimentary upgrade, travelers should contact their professional travel consultant or call 1-855-359-7228. South African Airways Vacations® offers vacation options for all budgets, with African Specialists on hand to ensure clients experience the vacation of their dreams. For a complete overview of air-inclusive vacation packages to other destinations throughout Africa, visit www.flysaavacations.com.

About South African Airways Vacations®

A division of South African Airways (SAA), South African Airways Vacations® (SAA Vacations®) is highly regarded for its wide array of affordable luxury packages to Africa and uses SAA’s extensive route network to create packages for travel throughout South Africa, Botswana, Victoria Falls, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, Ghana and the Indian Ocean Islands. Offering more than 80 air-inclusive packages, which range from value to superb luxury. Our specialty-themed programs offer unique

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS VACATIONS® ANNOUNCES FREE FIVE STAR LUXURY UPGRADES ON “BEST OF SOUTH AFRICA” PACKAGE
PAGE 3
experiences, whether you are interested in safaris, culture, cuisine, romance and adventure. The program is managed and fulfilled by DSA Vacations, founded in 2001, and offers an extensive portfolio of tour programs with a variety of hotels, game lodges, and safari companies throughout Southern Africa.

About South African Airways
South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most awarded airline, serves over 75 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its low cost carrier Mango. In North America, SAA operates daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Accra, Ghana and Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg. SAA has partnerships with United Airlines, Air Canada, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines, which offer convenient connections from more than 100 cities in the U.S. and Canada to SAA’s flights. SAA is a Star Alliance member and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-star rating for 16consecutive years.
Like South African Airways Vacations on Facebook here Follow South African Airways Vacations on Twitter here.
Like South African Airways on Facebook here. Follow South African Airways on Twitter here.

Contact:
Todd Neuman

South African Airways
Phone: 954-769-5001
Email: toddneuman@flysaa.com

Terry von Guilleaume
South African Airways Vacations
Phone: 520-882-3600
Email: terry@flysaavacations.com

*Terms & Conditions -
Price is per person based on double occupancy and economy class flights. Valid as of August 28, 2018 for departures from New York (JFK) or Washington (IAD) between Aug 29– Dec 09, 2018 and Apr 01 – 18, 2019 and Apr 24 – May 31, 2019 and also Aug 11 – 31, 2019 with the same itinerary available at higher prices during other travel periods. Other departure points and domestic flights within the U.S. can be booked. Price for other departure cities and/or travel dates may vary. Subject to availability and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Prices are valid for new bookings only, are not retroactive and may change without notice. Package includes all government and airline imposed taxes and fees. Baggage and optional service fees, cancellation charges and other restrictions may apply.

JOHANNESBURG. 19 August 2018. South African Airways (SAA) this week launched one of its flagship initiatives to promote communication between management and its employees.

The App, which is innovative and the first of its kind in the history of the airline, can be downloaded on mobile devices. It will enable employees to interact with the chief executive officer, Mr Vuyani Jarana, and management in a more direct and secure manner. The App can be downloaded on company-issued mobile devices as well as on personal devices to those employees who have access to computers only.

“We are pleased that the App has been launched and this will serve as one of the many communication platforms we have at SAA to enable all employees to have more access to management and information in real time. The intention here is to enable communication through as many channels as possible for employees to use what is convenient to them. In addition, we seek to promote and not prevent access to information,” said SAA spokesperson, Tlali Tlali.

“We are astounded by bizarre claims that the airline has taken steps to prevent its employees from accessing negative stories about the company using its equipment (company issued mobile devices and computers). This is not only untrue, but also impossible to implement at SAA. We are not aware that any such advanced technology exists and we do not even have any such provision in our Information Technology (IT), Human Resources or Communication policies.”

SAA staff has access to all web news sites at all times. They can also access social media outside of core working hours with many exceptions where this is required to fulfil daily roles and requirements.

The airline has no record of having communicated any such decision or taking steps to block employee access to content (any media reports).

“We have put measures in place to limit unfettered access to some of the social media sites on SAA IT platforms as we continue to look for ways of reducing costs and to enhance productivity. In our view, this is a sensible thing to do,” explained Tlali.

Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) led by its chairperson, Mr Themba Godi, spent three days at SAA this week as part of the committee's oversight responsibilities. During their visit, the committee conducted inspections at various areas at SAA including its subsidiaries, AirChefs and SAAT. During that time, the committee interacted with employees, management, executives and the Board.

On the last day of the visit at SAA, the committee held a meeting with both the executive team and the Board where the committee raised a number of issues with the airline's leadership. Matters raised with the company ranged from governance, strategy, solvency and liquidity as well as appointments and allegations of theft and corruption.

At no stage did the committee raise concerns that SAA employees complained about information clamp down within the company. If such unsubstantiated claims were made, we believe they must be rejected as they have no basis in fact and cannot be sustained by any credible evidence. These claims sought to create confusion, hurt the SAA brand and mislead members of SCOPA and the public at large.

Despite negative media coverage the airline has endured over time, SAA believes the introduction of any such measures as claimed in the media, would be counterproductive, absurd and ineffective in a digital age and information era where access to information must be promoted and not prevented.

“SAA communicates openly and regularly with employees on important matters relating to the company. Employees have the opportunity to raise their concerns at regular face-face engagement sessions and through various forums,” concluded Tlali.

The airline remains available to clarify to members of SCOPA regarding any miscommunication that may have created the misunderstanding.

-Ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa
 
 

LONDON, U.K. – July 20, 2018 – Star Alliance has claimed the Best Airline Alliance title at the Skytrax World Airline Awards for the third year running, with the Alliance’s prestigious Los Angeles Lounge retaining the Best Airline Alliance Lounge Award for the fourth year in a row.

“Receiving the Best Alliance accolade from Skytrax for a third consecutive time is a significant achievement. It recognises our focus on improving the customer journey and providing a better digital alliance travel experience”, said Jeffrey Goh, CEO Star Alliance. “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our more than 700 million annual passengers for their continued loyalty to our 28 member airline network and acknowledge the work and professionalism of the more than 420,000 member airline employees, who deliver the alliance travel experience on a daily basis”.

The base of its digital transformation is the Star Alliance Digital Services Platform (DSP), which was launched earlier this year. It is the first step to an overall enhancement of digital and mobile services offered to customers travelling across the network. The DSP can connect digital services of one member airline or third-party and make it available to all members, enabling them to build it into their own customer-facing digital applications. The longer-term aim is to allow customers to use any member airline’s website or mobile application to obtain all the information they need for travel on several Star Alliance member airlines.

Through DSP, United Airlines currently offers advance seat reservations on Singapore Airlines flights and Lufthansa provides baggage tracking information on journeys which include flights on other Star Alliance airlines. Additional features will be made available across the Alliance progressively.

The World Airline Awards were introduced in 1999 to provide a customer satisfaction study that was truly global. Travellers across the world vote in the largest airline passenger satisfaction survey to decide the award winners.

Star Alliance was the first airline alliance to receive the Best Alliance Award from Skytrax when the category was first introduced in 2005 and has since held the award nine times.

Over 100 customer nationalities participated in the latest survey with 20.36 million eligible entries counted in the results. 335 airlines are featured in the survey results.

Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax said: "Star Alliance can be very proud of its continued popularity and support amongst its frequent flyer members. The flagship lounge in Los Angeles continues to be a favourite amongst survey respondents”.

The online survey operated from August 2017 to May 2018, together with invitations sent to previous year respondents in the survey database (total 24.45 million customers).  Customer survey forms were offered in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese. The highest nationality increase in the 2018 survey was Chinese customers with an additional 3.5 million entries.

In total, 17 Star Alliance member carriers also received a combination of 49 individual and regional awards, with the following five carriers ranked in the top 10 in the Best Airline Category: Singapore Airlines (1), ANA (3), EVA Air (5), Lufthansa (7) and THAI (10).

As selection of the awards are listed below with a full list available at:
https://www.worldairlineawards.com/a-z-airline-awards-winners-2018/

Aegean Airlines              Best Regional Airline in Europe
                                     Best Cabin Crew in Southern Europe

Air Canada                     Best Airline in North America
                                     Best Business Class in North America
                                     Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness in North America

Air New Zealand              Best Premium Economy Class
                                      Best Premium Economy Seat
                                      Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness in Australia / Pacific

ANA                               World's Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness
                                      Best Airline Staff in Asia
                                      Best Cabin Crew in Japan

Asiana                            Best Cabin Crew in South Korea

 
Austrian Airlines              Best Airline Service Staff in Europe
                                      Best Business Class Onboard Catering  

Avianca                           Best Airline in South America
                                      Best Economy Class in South America

COPA Airlines                Best Airline in Central America / Caribbean
                                     Best Airline Staff in Central America / Caribbean

Ethiopian Airlines           Best Airline in Africa
                                    Best Business Class in Africa
                                    Best Economy Class in Africa

EVA Air                        World’s Best Airport Services

Lufthansa                     Best Airline in Europe
                                   Best Airline in Western Europe

Singapore Airlines        World’s Best Airline
                                  World’s Best First Class
                                  Best Airline in Asia
                                  Best First Class Seat
                                  Best First Class Lounge in Asia
                                  Best Business Class Lounge in Asia
                                  Best First Class in Asia
                                  Best Business Class in Asia
                                  Best Premium Economy Class in Asia

South African Airways  Best Airline Staff in Africa
                                  Best Business Class Lounge in Africa
                                  Best Cabin Crew in Africa
                                  Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness in Africa

THAI                            World's Best Economy Class
                                   Best Economy Class Onboard Catering
                                   World’s Best Airline Lounge Spa
                                   Best Cabin Crew in Thailand
                                   Best Economy Class in Asia

Turkish Airlines             Best Airline in Southern Europe
                                   Best Business Class Lounge
                                   Best Business Class Lounge Dining

United Airlines             Best Business Class Lounge in the USA

About Star Alliance:

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,800 daily flights to 1,317 airports in 193 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.

Further information can be obtained via:

Star Alliance Press Office
Tel: +49 69 96375 183
Fax: +49 69 96375 683
Email: mediarelations@staralliance.com
www.staralliance.com
Twitter @staralliance https://twitter.com/staralliance
Facebook: www.facebook.com/staralliance
LinkedIn:       https://www.linkedin.com/company/star-alliance
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/staralliancenetwork
Instagram: https://instagram.com/staralliance/

JOHANNESBURG. 18 July 2018. South African Airways (SAA) continues to set the bar in customer service by winning once again the ‘Best Airline Staff in Africa’ award at the annual World Airline Awards hosted by Skytrax, the Oscars of the aviation industry, held on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in London.

In SAA’s sixth triumph, this award recognises service excellence covering a spectrum of front-line customer service touch points; highlighting SAA’s rating as offering the best service in terms of airport staff and onboard experience. The awards rate customer satisfaction across staff service efficiency, friendliness, hospitality, language skills and overall quality consistency across front-line staff.

Under the category ‘Best Airline Staff in Africa’ SAA also won for Best Business Class Lounge in Africa, Best Cabin Crew in Africa, and Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness in Africa.

Mango Airlines secured the Best Low-Cost Carrier in Africa carrier top spot for the third time at this year’s prestigious awards.

SAA also retained its 4-Star rating for the 16th year, a seal of quality approval awarded to airlines supplying good quality performance across a range of rating criteria.

According to Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted, “The South African Airways brand of service continues to delight customers across their network. This award, which is voted for by SAA passengers, is excellent recognition for the dedicated frontline staff.”  

“We’re exceptionally pleased to be rated as having the Best Airline Staff in Africa for the sixth time, this speaks to our level of consistency with regards to service excellence throughout our customers travel journey. It’s a significant pat on the back for us to see our employees’ hard work being recognised on such a global scale, particularly in light of strong competition from other African Airlines,” says SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali.

“Our customers have very high expectations and the ability for SAA to constantly meet those is phenomenal. We continue to enhance our consumer experience under the current turnaround strategy to ensure that expectations are not only met but are exceeded on every flight,” concludes Tlali.

The World Airline Awards, now in their 18th consecutive year, are the epitome of excellence in the aviation industry and illustrate a vote of confidence from millions of global travellers annually. Through a consumer survey, travellers have the opportunity to rate their experience over a 10-month period in-flight and on the ground, allowing them to make their own personal choice regarding which airline they consider the best across a range of categories.

South African Airways is undergoing a major turnaround strategy which will see an improved customer experience shift over the next few years, seeing the business make critical changes to bring it back to profitability and continue to showcase best in class service and on-time rankings. One of the key focus areas is centred on fostering excellent customer relationships that ensure the airline exceeds customer experience expectations.

-Ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:

South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.

For media information, please contact:

SAA Spokesperson

Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 18 July 2018. This year marks a significant date in South African history as it celebrates the centenary year of one of our country's celebrated leaders, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Joining in on the tributes is Africa’s leading carrier, South African Airways (SAA), proudly announcing its support of centenary celebrations of our humble former President.

To mark this milestone, SAA has introduced special initiatives to honour Madiba, in keeping with the worldwide centenary campaign by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and SA Tourism, and to celebrate what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday. SAA has branded three aircraft within its fleet - an Airbus A320-200, A330-300, and an A340-600, with its own specially designed logo, as well as the official ‘Be the Legacy’ logo in recognition of Nelson Mandela’s contribution to humanity and as a sign of respect for the late President and philanthropist.  

Over the coming months, headrest covers and special edition paper cups inside the planes will inspire travellers to contemplate and reflect on Madiba’s legacy and carry these with them to their next destination. SAA’s in-flight entertainment will also be reflective of the Nelson Mandela Centenary, and travellers are encouraged to watch the movie, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, and the sports documentary – Mandela’s World Cup, on SAA’s international flights.

SAA’s support of the Centenary, which runs for the entire year, will culminate in a surprise element later in the year, which promises to carry further the Nelson Mandela legacy across the airline’s route network.  
“As an African carrier with global reach, it is only natural for SAA to celebrate what would have been Tata’s 100th birthday, by sharing his values with South Africans and people around the world. We hope that through these small gestures we can inspire others to strive for his ideals and continue his legacy,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA Spokesperson.

Customers who are members of SAA’s frequent flyer programme, Voyager, will also be given the chance to give back, by voluntarily donating some of their Voyager Miles to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. In addition, Voyager customers flying today, Wednesday, 18 July will earn an extra 100 Voyager Miles per sector when flying on SAA-operated flights only.

“We hope these gestures show our gratitude and recognise his selfless contribution towards the freedom and democracy we enjoy today,” concludes Tlali.

Finally, as Madiba’s smiling face appears on the July 2018 cover of Sawubona, SAA’s in-flight magazine, articles within urge passengers to visit some of the must-see historic Mandela sites across the country. These include the 100 landmarks that shaped Nelson Mandela’s journey.

South Africa continues to honour the man who touched the world, and South African Airways invites you to engage with his remarkable legacy.

-Ends-

Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.
 
For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson

Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298

Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing

Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
 
General Enquiries:

Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

JOHANNESBURG. 8 June 2018. South African Airways (SAA) has added capacity to the Eastern Cape for business travellers between East London and Johannesburg.
SAA currently operates 24 flights per week between Johannesburg and East London, with a double daily service (except on Mondays and Saturdays). Effective Sunday 10 June 2018 the airline has added additional flights on three days of the week, increasing the service to 30 flights per week.
SAA has scheduled the additional flights to cater specifically for the business traveller wanting to travel in time for meetings and who require additional flexibility for return flights.
“Adding these early departures out of East London and late returns from Johannesburg is an ideal way for business travellers from the coastal city to be in Johannesburg early morning to conclude their business and return the same day,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA spokesperson.
The additional flights are:
•    SA472 departs on Mondays, and Thursdays, from East London at 06h30 to arrive in Johannesburg at 07h55 and at 08h00 on Saturdays to arrive at 09h25.
•    SA477 returns on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from Johannesburg at 18h55 to arrive in East London at 20h20
SAA operates East London flights with Airbus A319 or A320 aircraft, offering SAA’s premium service in Business class.
Business travellers will enjoy SAA’s premium service. Voyager Elite members enjoy a number of benefits which include, priority check-in and boarding, excess baggage, as well as lounge access.
Early morning departures out of East London offer seamless connections at Johannesburg with SAA flights departing for other destinations in SAA’s regional route network.  Flights arriving late afternoon in Johannesburg offer easy connections with SAA’s international flights.
SAA Cargo will use the added capacity to move fresh seafood and other freight on the early morning flights out of East London in time for the departure on SAA’s Hong Kong flight, primarily destined for international markets in Asia.

The introduction of the three additional flights between Johannesburg and East London means the SAA Group, with its partner airlines, now offer an extensive service to the Eastern Cape.
“We remain committed to ensuring that we respond to and meet the requirements of the market we serve. This means, SAA will continue to monitor performance and demand and will make appropriate commercial decisions with requisite agility in support of its customers,” concludes Tlali.

SAA and its partner airlines, provide comprehensive service to the Eastern Cape with flights between Johannesburg and East London, George and Port Elizabeth. They also operate between Durban and East London, Cape Town and East London, and Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.
Revised East London Schedule:

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Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 57 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service award in the Africa category; this shows that our customer-facing employees are our true brand ambassadors who made a difference to millions of travelling customers.

For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298
Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com

General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa - https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care - https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa

SYDNEY, Australia – June 4th, 2018 – Jeffrey Goh, CEO Star Alliance, used the occasion of the 74th IATA (International Air Transport Association) Annual General Meeting in Sydney to brief the world’s aviation media on the latest developments at the Alliance.

He began by reminding the audience that Star Alliance had undertaken a shift in its strategic focus from membership growth to improving the seamless travel experience, especially for those customers who fly on multi-carrier journeys.

Having control over their journey at their fingertips is of high importance to many travellers. Hence, harnessing digital technologies to provide a better and digital travel experience lies at the heart of this strategic repositioning.

“At yesterday’s Chief Executive Board Meeting the member carrier CEO’s re-affirmed the shift in strategy and endorsed the Alliance’s plan to enable more interconnectivity between the digital services of the member airlines to elevate the customers’ Alliance travel experience”, commented Goh.

In order to achieve this, the Alliance has set out to develop digital capabilities centrally, which can then be used by its member carriers to enhance their own products, so that they can offer extended care to their regular customers even when they are travelling elsewhere on the network.

The groundwork for this digital transformation was put into place at Star Alliance several years ago, with the creation of an IT hub infrastructure. This has already enabled the better integration of back-end services between the member airlines. Improvements have, for example, been achieved in the reliability of through-check in for multi-carrier itineraries or ensuring faster crediting of accrued frequent flyer miles into the correct customer account.

The next milestone was the launch of the Star Alliance Digital Services Platform (DSP) which officially went live in February this year. Lufthansa uses the DSP to provide baggage tracking information for customers connecting to or from other Star Alliance member airlines. The necessary data is sourced from the average six and a half million baggage messages per day, which are currently processed by the Star Alliance baggage hub.

Meanwhile, United has enabled advanced seat reservations for flights operated by Singapore Airlines, for customers who book these through United’s website, app or mobile site. Further Star Alliance member carriers have indicated that they would like to offer this enhancement to their customers and the necessary work on this has already commenced.

Those attending the briefing were given the opportunity to follow a live product demonstration.
Many additional enhancements of this type will be introduced over the next few years.  Individually, these will offer an incremental improvement. Taken together, they will provide customers a completely new level of information and control of their journey.

Photo Caption: Star Alliance CEO, Jeffrey Goh (right), and Star Alliance Director Digital and E-Services, Jeremy Drury (left) at the IATA press conference. Photo: Natalia Mroz/IATA

About Star Alliance:
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,800 daily flights to 1,317 airports in 193 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.

Further information can be obtained via:

Star Alliance Press Office
Tel: +49 69 96375 183
Fax: +49 69 96375 683
Email: mediarelations@staralliance.com
www.staralliance.com
Twitter @staralliance https://twitter.com/staralliance
Facebook: www.facebook.com/staralliance
LinkedIn:       https://www.linkedin.com/company/star-alliance
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/staralliancenetwork
Instagram: https://instagram.com/staralliance/

JOHANNESBURG. 29 May 2018 - South African Airways (SAA) has announced an extended schedule as part of the interventions to sustain South African Express network. This is through replacement capacity for a year with partner airlines to support SA Express passengers. The intervention comes after the suspension of SA Express operations by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) on 24 May 2018.  

“The year-long schedule brings travel certainty and choice for customers who may want to travel from today 29 May 2018 until 28 May 2019,” says SAA Spokesperson, Tlali Tlali.