South African Airways (SAA) has announced it will resume its service to Sao Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU), Brazil, with four weekly flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The company hadn’t operated in South America since March 2020, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 health crisis and a subsequent crisis of its own that halted all its operations. This will be the airline’s first intercontinental route since it returned to the skies in September 2021, after the South African government sold 51% of its stake to the Takatso Consortium.
“We are delighted to announce that São Paulo is our first international destination since the airline successfully emerged from an intensive commercial rescue process and the Covid-19 lockdown.” stated the acting CEO, John Lamola.
The company will resume its service between São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU) and Johannesburg/OR Tambo (JNB) on November 6, 2023, with two weekly flights. In addition, they announced another connection to the Brazilian city departing from Cape Town (CPT) starting October 31, with two weekly flights, marking the return of long-haul services in that South African city.
“Our decision to kick-start the relaunch of our long-haul service with São Paulo was based on a rigorous analysis of the route’s viability. Sustainability has been at the core of SAA’s approach since our restart”. Lamola affirmed.
SAA has appointed the Air Promotion Group (APG) in Brazil as its General Sales Agent (GSA). Both links are now available for purchase.
Schedule of South African flights to Brazil
Begins on November 6
- Johannesburg – São Paulo flight SA 222 JNB 11:20 – 16:15 GRU / Monday and Thursday.
- São Paulo – Johannesburg flight SA 223 GRU 17:45 – 07:45 (+1) JNB / Monday and Thursday.
The company will compete with LATAM, which will resume its operations next September 2 with three weekly flights using Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Begins on October 31
- Cape Town – Sao Paulo flight SA 226 CPT 12:55 – 16:35 GRU / Tuesday and Saturday.
- São Paulo – Cape Town flight SA 227 GRU 18:05 – 06:40 (+1) CPT / Tuesday and Saturday.
SAA’s commercial director, Mr. Tebogo Tsimane, said: «We have created an effective schedule that is ideal for both business and leisure travelers and our schedule is fantastic for connecting traffic».
The company highlighted São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous city and one of the world’s largest financial centers, as an ideal destination for business or pleasure, offering
a wide selection of first-rate museums, cultural centers, theaters, and cinemas.
Although it has not yet been announced which aircraft model the company will use on its flights to Brazil, it is known that the South African Airways fleet has been drastically reduced during its restructuring. Currently, it has five Airbus A320ceo, one Airbus A330-300 and one Airbus A340-300.
New strategic plan for South African with dual hub
Recently, the South African government approved the company’s request to acquire five additional Airbus A320 and an A330, with the purpose of increasing their operations. The company declared that all aircraft will be available from September 2023.
Also See: Competition Commission backs the sale of South African Airways, but with conditions
South African Airways (SAA) plans to change its operations strategy for its international markets: the airline seeks to establish a dual hub model that offers long-distance services from Johannesburg (JNB) and Cape Town (CPT), as the company re-enters the intercontinental segment. Prior to the pandemic, the airline had all its operations centered at OR Tambo Airport (JNB).
“Cape Town has significantly developed as a second hub in southern Africa and, for us, it no longer makes sense to continue with our pre-business rescue plan (BRP) and pandemic hub strategy. And our strategy also includes establishing hubs in the north of our home”, said Tebogo Tsimane, SAA’s interim director in 2022.
Following the restructuring process and the company’s ongoing partial privatization process, SAA would re-enter intercontinental markets with caution. The South African airline has a pan-African partnership with Kenya Airways, with the intention of expanding its international operations.
Among the new routes, it intends to use Cape Town (CPT) with flights New York, USA (JFK), Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU) and at least one Australian city (Sydney and/or Perth). In turn, from Johannesburg (JNB) it will maintain more demanded destinations it had prior to the pandemic, which included New York, Perth, São Paulo, London and Frankfurt.
