At 17:26 (local time) on October 31st, the Airbus A330-300 with registration ZS-SXM landed at Guarulhos International Airport, signifying the return of South African Airways to São Paulo, Brazil after a nearly four-year hiatus.
The flight originated from Cape Town (CPT), a new destination for Guarulhos, and will operate twice a week. On November 6th, South African Airways will resume its flights between Johannesburg/OR Tambo (JNB) and São Paulo, also twice a week using their Airbus A330-300.
The airline had not operated in South America since March 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent internal crises that halted all its operations. This will be the airline’s first intercontinental route since its return to the skies in September 2021, after the South African government sold 51% of its stake to the Takatso Consortium.
See Also: South African Airways to Fly A330-300 in Brazil
South African’s Flight Schedule to Cape Town
Flights to Cape Town will be operated on Airbus A330-300 aircraft, accommodating 249 passengers, with 46 seats in business class and 203 in economy, offering a total of 996 seats per week.
- Cape Town – São Paulo flight SA 226 CPT 12:55 – 16:35 GRU / Tuesdays and Saturdays.
- São Paulo – Cape Town flight SA 227 GRU 18:05 – 06:40 (+1) CPT / Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Varig was the last airline to connect both cities in 1999. According to Cape Town’s tourism office (Wesgro), São Paulo was identified as the largest underserved market for the coastal city. In 2019, 43,000 round-trip passengers were recorded between the two regions.
The last airline to operate from Cape Town to South America was Malaysia Airlines, which flew a Boeing 747-400 twice a week to Buenos Aires/Ezeiza (EZE), a route that lasted until January 2012.
For Guarulhos, it’s the fifth connection with Africa following EgyptAir (Cairo), Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa), LATAM (Johannesburg), TAAG Angola Airlines (Luanda), and now, South African Airways (Cape Town and Johannesburg).
See Also: #TBT: South African Airways Flights to Argentina and Brazil in 1999
SAA’s Dual-Hub New Strategic Plan
South African Airways (SAA) plans to shift its international operations strategy. The airline aims to establish a dual hub model offering long-haul services from Johannesburg (JNB) and Cape Town (CPT), its gateways for intercontinental flights. Before the pandemic, all operations were centered at OR Tambo Airport (JNB).
«Cape Town has significantly developed as a secondary hub in Southern Africa, and for us, it no longer makes sense to continue with our previous rescue plan. Our strategy also includes establishing hubs in the north of our home,» said Tebogo Tsimane, interim director of SAA in 2022.
Following the airline’s restructuring and ongoing partial privatization, SAA plans to cautiously re-enter intercontinental markets. The South African airline has a pan-African partnership with Kenya Airways, aiming to expand its international operations.
Among the new routes, it intends to serve Cape Town (CPT) with flights to New York (JFK), USA; São Paulo (GRU), Brazil, and at least one Australian city (Sydney and/or Perth). Meanwhile, from Johannesburg (JNB), it will maintain high-demand destinations from before the pandemic, including New York, Perth, São Paulo, London, and Frankfurt.
Currently, the airline operates with six Airbus A320-200s, two Airbus A330-300s, one Airbus A340-300, and two Boeing 737-800s.
