South African Airways (SAA) has been around for quite some time. The company has been losing money for years, and that doesn’t even take into account the impact of the pandemic, prompting the company to embark on a business rescue plan at the end of 2019. As part of this, the airline has retired most of its aircraft and ceased operating long-haul routes entirely. Fortunately, in 2021, the airline emerged from business rescue, albeit only briefly.
Since then, the airline has gradually restarted its routes, starting with regional flights. In October 2023, SAA added its first long-haul route to São Paulo, Brazil. The company has now announced plans to open a second long-haul route.
SAA flies from Johannesburg to Perth
As of April 28, 2024, South African Airways will operate three non-stop flights per week between Johannesburg (JNB) and Perth (PER). The service will operate according to the following schedule.
SA280 Johannesburg to Perth 8:55pm departure 12:20pm arrival (+1 day)
SA281 Perth to Johannesburg Departs at 2:40pm Arrives at 7:35pm
The 5,173-mile flight was closed for 9 hours and 25 minutes eastbound and 10 hours and 55 minutes westbound. Eastbound service will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and westbound service will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. One of the great things about this flight is that it is one of the southernmost long-haul routes in the world, as shown below.
SAA will use its only Airbus A340-300 aircraft on this route, with a total of 253 seats. This includes 38 business class seats and 215 economy class seats. SAA calls the A340-300 “a wonder of the world’s skies” and claims the aircraft is “synonymous with being spacious, comfortable, reliable and capable of easily flying long distances”. lol…
SAA logic for adding flights to Australia
For those of us not familiar with the South African aviation market, it may come as a surprise that Perth will be the second destination added as SAA resumes long-haul flights. So what’s the logic of this route? It’s worth remembering that the airline had been flying this route for years before receiving business rescue, and this is not an entirely new service.
SAA CEO John Lamola explains the logic of this route:
“In addition to the route’s global interconnectivity potential, Perth has been a popular destination for South African and Australian travelers for many years, with around 80% of our target market being people visiting family and friends. The reopening of this route will provide easier and more direct travel for both leisure and business travelers and will foster trade and cultural exchange between South Africa and Australia.”
“We are committed to growing SAA into a respected leader in global aviation. Perth is just one indicator of this ambition, as we expand to more than 20 destinations this year. It gives us confidence that our vision will become a reality.”
Mr Lamola said the addition of back-to-back services to Perth was a strategic move by SAA to “leverage SAA’s unique capabilities as a national carrier with wide-body aircraft capable of providing long-range intercontinental air connectivity to South Africa”. The company claims to be in line with its strategic plan to expand the company to a profitable level.
The company also highlights how you can now book Southern Hemisphere travel packages between Perth and Sao Paulo and back. Honestly, that’s ridiculous routing!
Although SAA’s long-haul network is unconventional, there is something to be said for the airline’s strategy. The airline operates in markets where it does not face competition from Gulf, European and US airlines, which are its biggest competitors on long-haul routes to South Africa.
Historically, the airline has faced some challenges with both its European and US services.
- For Europe, SAA faced stiff competition from almost every major European airline group in the world, and also because its planes typically remained in Europe all day, operating round-trip red-eye flights, resulting in poor aircraft utilization. was pretty bad.
- Flights to the US are very long flights, so it’s difficult to apply economics to a primarily leisure-oriented route. SAA also flew to New York (JFK) but could not connect via Star Alliance partner United.
conclusion
From April 2024, South African Airways will begin operating flights between Johannesburg and Perth, making it the airline’s second long-haul route. His two long-haul routes for SAA now both cross the South Pacific, at least with good air availability and not very long distances.
SAA’s long-haul network may seem strange to some, but there’s something to be said for the competition’s focus on limited routes.
What do you think about SAA’s new Johannesburg-Perth route?