South African Airways (SAA), the flag carrier of South Africa, boasts a history spanning over 90 years. Founded in 1929 as Union Airways, it rebranded to South African Airways in 1934, becoming a symbol of South African aviation. The airline's journey has been marked by periods of growth, innovation, and significant challenges, reflecting the country's own complex history.
Early Years and Expansion
The origin of the airline goes back to a small but ambitious private airline known as Union Airways. It was founded by Allister Macintosh Miller in 1929. It was then renamed South African Airways. That name would eventually stand proud and tall among all major international carriers and make SAA one of the longest-surviving airlines in the world, unabashedly outlasting many famous carriers in Europe, the United States and other parts of the globe. After its formation the airline grew by leaps and bounds. It was soon trailblazing its way deep into the African hinterland.
SAA began on February 1, 1934, after the South African government bought Union Airways. SAA took over Union Airways' staff and planes, including several Junkers F.13 aircraft. In 1935, SAA bought another airline called Suidwes Lugdiens (now Air Namibia). SAA also ordered three Junkers Ju 52/3m planes. These planes could carry 14 passengers and helped SAA start more flights between cities like Durban and Johannesburg.
During the war years South Africa aligned itself with Britain. Air travel was placed on hold and SAA air crews and aircraft were sent to the battlefront. They fought valiantly alongside the Allies in North Africa and Europe. In fact, the first action between a German vessel and an Allied aircraft took place between an SAA airliner adapted for maritime patrol duties and a German liner off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope in December, 1939. In August, 1944 one of the first altercations between an RAF aircraft and an early model of the Luftwaffe’s brand new Messerschmitt Me262 jet fighters took place over Leipheim in Bavaria with an SAA pilot at the controls of a Mosquito reconnaissance airplane. SAA crews fought with distinction in both the RAF and the South African Air Force (SAAF), garnering numerous honors, awards and decorations.
Following World War II, frequencies were increased and more routes were opened, which necessitated the conversion of three South African Air Force Envoys to passenger layout. These aircraft would prove to be unsuitable for passenger and cargo services and were returned to the SAAF after the arrival of the Junkers Ju 86s. In 1944, SAA began operating 28 Lockheed Lodestars to restart domestic services and by 1948 SAA operating nineteen examples.
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On November 10, 1945, SAA achieved a longtime company goal by operating a route to Europe when an Avro York landed in Bournemouth, England, after the long flight from Palmietfontein Airport near Johannesburg. The airline introduced its first intercontinental service, the 3-day Springbok Service, operated by the Avro York, which was routed Palmietfontein-Nairobi-Khartoum-Cairo-Castel Benito-Hurn Bournemouth. A weekly service was initially flown, but this later increased to 6 times weekly due to high passenger demand.
Air hostesses were introduced in September 1946: at first on domestic routes, then on Springbok Services. Palmietfontein Airport replaced Rand Airport as SAA's hub in 1948. In June 1948, SAA began to show films on its Skymaster aircraft. SAA received four Lockheed Constellations, its first pressurised aircraft, in August 1950. They provided scheduled service to London's Heathrow airport. Initially, the route from Johannesburg was flown via Nairobi, Khartoum and Rome.
SAA ordered its first Boeing 707s in 1958. Apartheid was always the Sword of Damocles that hung over the airline’s head. When the ‘grass curtain’ came down over Africa in 1963 after most newly independent African nations closed their airspace to SAA traffic as a defiant measure to protest against apartheid SAA was forced to fly around the western bulge of the African continent to reach destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North America. If SAA aircraft overflew Africa they risked being intercepted and shot down. Flying around the bulge was an enormous technical and logistical challenge. To save fuel and to allow airliners to fly the additional distance without landing on the African mainland rapid innovation was the catalyst for foreign engine and aircraft manufacturers to work in conjunction with SAA’s technical engineers to come up with new, long-range equipment. Despite the odds, SAA changed its routing to fly around the bulge of Africa without incident and without cancelling a single flight.
The Jet Age and International Expansion
The jet age arrived in South Africa on May 3, 1952 when a BOAC de Havilland Comet arrived in Palmietfontein after a 24-hour journey from England with five refuelling stops en route. SAA chartered two Comets from the British airline on 4 October 1953, when Comet G-ANAV left London for Johannesburg. On the same day, Tourist Class was introduced on the 58-seat Lockheed Constellation used on the Springbok Service.
In 1956, SAA introduced the Douglas DC-7B, capable of long-range operations and then probably the fastest piston-engine airliner in the world. SAA exploited the aircraft's performance by introducing it between Johannesburg and London with only one fuelling stop at Khartoum. This was known as the East Coast express, taking 21 hours to complete, versus BOAC's inaugural Comet flight between the two cities of 24 hours.
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Three months after arrival, on 1 October 1960, the Boeing 707 was deployed on the airline's flagship Springbok Service, trimming the flying time to London to 13 hours. A 707 replaced the DC-7B on the Wallaby Route in 1967; Cocos Islands was dropped, while Sydney became the terminus. The jets arrived during a period when most African countries, except SA's neighbours, denied South African airlines the use of their airspace, necessitating long detours.
In 1967 the Skymasters, Constellations and DC-7Bs were being retired, replaced by the Boeing 727 trijet the following year to complement the Boeing 707. The SAA logo from 1971 to 1997. SAA opened a route to Asia, with Boeing 707 flights to Hong Kong via an intermediate stop at the Seychelles Islands in June 1974. In 1980, SAA began nonstop flights to Taipei using a Boeing 747SP; Mauritius had earlier replaced the Seychelles for the Hong Kong service.
The US Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 banned all flights by South African-owned carriers, including SAA. With the demise of apartheid in 1990, SAA started services to former and new destinations in Africa and Asia. On 1 June 1990, South African companies signed a domestic air travel deregulation act.
The first of SAA's eight Boeing 747-400s, named Durban, arrived in South Africa on 19 January 1991. Winglets, structural changes and fuel-efficient engines enabled these aircraft to fly non-stop from South Africa to the east coast of the United States. The arrival of Boeing's newest jumbo jet perhaps overshadowed the acquisition by SAA of the world's first commercial fly-by-wire airliner, the Airbus A320, to assist and enhance services within the country and on regional services.
In 1997, SAA replaced the springbok emblem and the old national colours of orange, white and blue with a new livery based upon the new national flag, with a sun motif. The airline's name on its aircraft retained the Afrikaans name Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens.
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Financial Difficulties and Business Rescue
SAA has faced profound challenges in the last decade. It had been run at a loss since 2011. As a result of the mismanagement, SAA was forced to rely entirely on government financial assistance over a 10-year period to stay afloat, a situation made worse by Covid. In that period… the government had to put in some 40bn rand ($2.2bn) into SAA," said Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
The national carrier was placed under voluntary business rescue in 2019 to protect it from bankruptcy. It was then forced to suspend all operations in September 2020, as it struggled to raise a bailout of over $540m. The airline entered voluntary business rescue in December 2019 as a result of financial difficulties, and suspended all operations the following year.
The airline recorded losses in the four years from 2018 of a staggering $1.2bn (£1bn). In a scathing report, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke said that the financial statements SAA had drawn up dating from the 2018-19 financial year lacked credibility.
In January 2020, South African Airways announced that it would suspend several routes. On 5 December 2019, SAA was placed under business rescue. Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana were appointed as the Business Rescue Practitioners of SAA in December 2019. In February 2020, ex-Secretary General of the ANC, Ace Magashule, stated that should the Business Rescue Practitioners take decisions not to the ANC's liking, it would intervene.
On 2 May 2020, the government of South Africa announced that South African Airways would be ceasing operations after 86 years of service, and that a new flagship carrier would be created for South Africa out of the ashes of the former airline. The liquidation process was set to begin on 8 May; however, a legal battle between the liquidators and the workforce delayed the proceedings indefinitely.
In July, the creditors voted to accept the restructuring plan, allowing the airline to avoid liquidation. In October 2020, the South African government said it was looking for partners in its efforts to bail out the airline.
Sale to Takatso Consortium and Current Status
As part of a programme to rescue the airline, the government announced plans, in June 2021, to sell a 51% stake in SAA to a group known as the Takatso Consortium. The government's department of public enterprises retains the remaining 49% stake, securing a long-term national strategic interest in the airline.
However, this deal was later cancelled, and SAA is now fully owned by the state again.
SAA sell-off plan It was then forced to suspend all operations in September 2020, as it struggled to raise a bailout of over $540m. As part of a programme to rescue the airline, the government announced plans, in June 2021, to sell a 51% stake in SAA to a group known as the Takatso Consortium.
Under the scheme, the government's department of public enterprises retains the remaining 49% stake, securing a long-term national strategic interest in the airline. Last July, it was approved by the Competition Tribunal of South Africa provided that certain conditions were met.
One of the requirements was a moratorium on staff cuts that guarantees job security for SAA employees during the transitional phase. But it has hit problems, with trade unions alleging that proper procedures were not followed. A parliamentary committee plans to subpoena Mr Gordhan to investigate this further.
Takatso, with its huge cash injection, had been seen as a lifeline for SAA, but the airline says it will carry on with its expansion plans in the meantime. SAA's new management hopes to shift the business from its dependence on state support to a financially self-sustaining one, by only maintaining a fleet it can afford and pulling out of the low-cost market.
SAA wants the airline's name to be back on departure boards across the world. Despite the fanfare around the return of SAA to intercontinental travel, the airline is still looking to build up its business within Africa, taking on 15 extra regional routes, along with four domestic ones by March 2025.
SAA relaunched operations on September 23, 2021. Even though it hadn't flown for 18 months, Skytrax named SAA the second-best airline in Africa in 2021. Since then, SAA has grown steadily.
Towards the end of last year, in a sign that SAA wants to be a major player again, it reopened its routes from Cape Town and Johannesburg to São Paulo, Brazil. And now it is selling tickets for flights to Perth, Australia. These are the airline's first long-haul destinations in three years. It did return in September 2021, making a surprise profit serving a limited number of African destinations after coming out of voluntary business rescue. This was a process which saw the airline placed under the temporary supervision of experts who were asked to return the company to financial health. They pared back the fleet from 44 aircraft to six and focused on the African market.
Fleet and Destinations
As of January 2024, South African Airways flies to 17 places in 12 countries across Africa, Australia, and South America. Within South Africa, SAA flies to three cities. South African Airways shares flights with many other airlines.
As of April 2025, South African Airways uses only Airbus planes. South African Airways has used many different types of aircraft throughout its history.
On SAA's Airbus A330-300 and A340-300 planes, business class seats are very spacious. They are arranged in a 2-2-2 layout. Passengers get a welcome pack, a duvet, a full-size pillow, and a personal screen to watch movies and shows. On domestic and regional flights, SAA uses Airbus A320-200 planes.
SAA's Airbus A330 and A340 economy class seats are arranged in a 2-4-2 layout. Passengers receive a welcome pack, a blanket, a full-size pillow, and a personal screen for entertainment.
SAA's main office is at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
THE RISE, FALL, AND RELAUNCH OF SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS - From Making Losses to surviving Bankruptcy
Frequent Flyer Program
Voyager is SAA's program for frequent flyers. Members earn "Tier Miles" by flying on certain flights to reach higher levels like Blue, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Lifetime Platinum. They also earn "Base Miles" which can be used for rewards like free flights.
Airport Lounges
SAA has lounges at airports around the world. These lounges are special waiting areas for SAA Business and First Class passengers.
Incidents and Accidents
Throughout its history, SAA has experienced several incidents and accidents. Here's a summary of some notable events:
- June 16, 1937: A Junkers Ju 52/3m plane was destroyed by fire after crashing on takeoff at Port Elizabeth Airport.
- March 28, 1941: A Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar crashed at Elands Bay, South Africa.
- January 5, 1948: A Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar landed too far down the runway at Palmietfontein.
- October 15, 1951: A Douglas DC-3 plane crashed into Mount Ingeli near Kokstad.
- September 15, 1952: A Douglas DC-3 was damaged while trying to land at an unlit airport in Carolina, South Africa.
- April 8, 1954: A de Havilland Comet I crashed off the coast of Italy. All 21 people on board died.
- October 29, 1960: A Boeing 707-344A landed without its wheels at Nairobi Airport after damaging its landing gear.
- March 6, 1962: A Douglas DC-3 crashed into a mountainside in South Africa.
- June 30, 1962: A Douglas DC-4 was in a mid-air collision with a military training plane near Durban airport.
- March 13, 1967: A Vickers Viscount 818 crashed into the sea near Kayser's Beach.
- April 20, 1968: A Boeing 707-344C crashed near Windhoek, South West Africa (now Namibia).
- May 24, 1972: A Boeing 727-100 was hijacked. Two people took control of the plane using dynamite sticks. The pilot tricked them into landing in Malawi, where the passengers and crew escaped.
- November 28, 1987: A Boeing 747-200B Combi crashed in the Indian Ocean after a fire in the cargo area.
- November 6, 2018: An Airbus A340-600 had a serious incident over Switzerland. The plane went too fast, and the pilots temporarily lost control.
- February 24, 2021: An Airbus A340-600 had an issue during takeoff from Johannesburg on its way to Brussels.
The Flying Springbok
For over six decades a stylized springbok gazelle with outstretched wings was the official logo of South African Airways (SAA.) The insignia-eventually redesigned and modernized-was emblazoned against a bright orange background on the tails of the airline’s entire fleet. Affectionately dubbed the ‘flying springbok’ the symbol was renowned around the world as a token of one of the world’s truly great international carriers, familiar to the travelling public on all six continents. It was a beloved logo to millions, representing the highest standards of safety in the industry, consistent on-time efficiency, reliability, dependability and unsurpassed comfort and style in the air.
Controversies
SAA has faced accusations of unfair hiring practices in the past. SAA has faced accusations of unfair hiring practices in the past. For example, in one instance, a trade union called Solidarity took legal action against SAA for rejecting white cadet pilots based on their race, even if they met the requirements.
During the time of former President Jacob Zuma, the SAA board faced accusations of improper activities. These issues were widely seen as a reason for SAA's serious financial problems. One person, Dudu Myeni, who was the chairperson of the SAA board, was later declared a "delinquent director" by a court.
Key Data
Summarizing key information about South African Airways:
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 24 July 1929 (as Union Airways) |
| Hubs | O. R. Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport |
| Frequent-flyer program | Voyager |
| Alliance | Star Alliance |
| Fleet size | 18 |
| Destinations | 15 |
| Parent company | Government of South Africa |
| Headquarters | Airways Park, O. R. Tambo International Airport |
