South African Airlines
South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier of South Africa. It is the biggest domestic and international airline in South Africa with headquarters located in Johannesburg. Its main hubs are OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport.
Based on performance, safety and revenues, SAA is considered the most profitable carrier in Africa and belongs to the list of top airlines in the world. It is a member of Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world, since 2006.
SAA was formed in 1934 when Union Airways was bought by the South African government and renamed it South African Airways. It initially serviced Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
The airline was recognized for being the first airline outside UK to operate the first pure jetliner, the De Havilland Comet, in 1953. From then on, SAA added international destinations steadily albeit slowly.
In 1990 SAA was recognized by London magazine Executive Travel as Best Airline to Africa. SAA made another first in 2005 when it became the first non-Saudi airline to fly direct Hajj service to Medina, Saudi Arabia. Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca and considered the largest annual pilgrimage in the world.
Domestic and International Destinations
SAA has services to 37 destinations, international, domestic and regional. It has a fleet size of 49 aircraft.
It has flight operations to Buenos Aires in Argentina; Sao Paulo in Brazil; Perth in Australia; New York City and Washington, D.C. in United States; London in United Kingdom; Frankfurt and Munich in Germany; Hong Kong; and Mumbai in India.
SAA flies to several destinations in Africa including Luanda in Angola; Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of the Congo; Libreville in Gabon; Nairobi in Kenya; Antananarivo in Madagascar; Blantyre and Lilongwe in Malawi; Mahebourg in Mauritius; Maputo in Mozambique; Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar in Tanzania; Entebbe in Uganda; Windhoek in Namibia; Gaborone in Botswana; Cape Town, Durban, East London, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth in South Africa; Lusaka and Livingstone in Zambia; Harare and Victoria in Zimbabwe; Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire; Accra in Ghana; Lagos in Nigeria; and Dakar in Senegal.
Voyager
SAA’s frequent flyer programme is the Voyager. It has a five-tier membership: Blue, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Lifetime Platinum. Earning miles is easy. Just fly with any eligible flights and fares of South African Airways and Star Alliance airlines. You can also purchase goods and services from its numerous partners such as hotels, car hire, credit cards, shopping and lifestyle shops. Miles will expire after three years so members have enough time to accumulate and redeem theirs for flight awards, leisure, lifestyle and car rental benefits.
Depending on tier status, benefits of Voyager membership include dedicated call centre, Voyager newsletter, bonus miles, priority check-in, lounge access, preferential seating, excess baggage, expediting and change fee exemption, airport upgrade, chauffer service and companion cards.
Star Alliance benefits depend on each member airline’s frequent flyer programme. There are two membership statuses in Star Alliance, Silver and Gold. A Silver Voyager Status qualifies for a Star Alliance Silver Status and will enjoy benefits such as priority waitlist and priority standby.
Gold, Platinum or Lifetime Platinum Voyager status will enjoy the Gold Status benefits from Star Alliance such as airport lounge access (the alliance has more than 620 lounges worldwide), priority check-in, priority baggage, extra baggage allowance, priority boarding, priority waitlist and priority airport standby.
In-flight Services
SAA offers two travel classes the Business Class and Economy Class. The business class has flat bed seats, lumbar support, reading lights, adjustable headrests, power supply for laptops, full audio-video-on-demand (AVOD) entertainment system, telephone, amenity kit, large pillows and duvets, gourmet meals, wines and champagnes.
The Economy Class, on the other hand, has a 33-inch pitch leg room, audio-video-on-demand, telephone, special meals, South African wines and snug blanket and pillow.
Duty free shopping is also available onboard so whenever you want to buy something for yourself or your loved ones, just check out the catalogue.