South African Airways, established in 1934, is South Africa’s largest domestic and international airline. SAA was one of the first national airlines in the world.Modern day SAA has hubs in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It is owned by Transnet, a public transport company. Two percent of the stocks are held by SAA’s 9,000 employees.
It serves 31 cities in 25 countries, carrying more than 7 million passengers per year. Recently a member of the exclusive Star Alliance, the connection vastly extended the number of destinations SAA flies to. Skytrax, the British experts on aviation ratings, declares SAA one of the best international airlines in terms of products offered and service standards. Employees receive intensive advanced training programs to help SAA maintain its reputation for excellent customer service.
SAA is a leader in the airline industry. They are called so because of their consistent ranking as number one in terms of performance, revenue, safety and many other categories. It is also called as Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens by Afrikaans.
The first cities served in 1934 were Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Flights to Kenya, Uganda and British East Africa signaled SAA’s entrance into the international market. The airline was essentially shut down during WWII, but in 1945, SAA achieved a long-time goal by opening its route to Europe with its first flight to Bournemouth.
SAA introduced the Boeing 707 to its fleet in the 1950′s jet age. SAA was the first airline other than the UK to operate a pure jetliner flight. SAA jets started flying non-stop to the UK and other European cities only two years later. The airline began flights to New York in 1969. Now the fleet of SAA includes some 50 aircraft.
SAA’s loyalty program, Voyager, has nearly 2 million members. Members can earn airmiles on SAA as well as for flights with their partner airlines and Star Alliance members. SAA backs up its commitment to customer service by investing millions each year on in-flight entertainment. Passengers may choose from more than a dozen movie channels, video games, music and travel information.
Business and first-class passengers are pampered even more. Business class offers the best business flat bed seats in the industry, according to Skytrax. They can also enjoy the Boabab Lounge at Johannesburg, which offers workstations complete with computers, faxes and printers. SAAs Cyclad Premium Lounge in Johannesburg was voted the third best in the world in a Skytrax survey in 2002.
In the first-class cabins, SAA offers these features: 180-degree, lie flat bed, possibly the widest in the industry at 29 inches wide. Each seat has its own electronically controlled ottoman, and large, private television screens with audio-video on-demand.
Business class travelers find generously wide, fully adjustable seats with an adjustable headrest and pneumatic lumbar support. Large private television screens with audio-video-on -demand are standard here as well.
In economy class, passengers may choose from two main courses accompanied by fine South African Wines while they also enjoy private televisions with audio-video-on-demand.
Safety and maintenance are very important to South African Airways. They have the largest maintenance facility in Africa, located at Johannesburg. Not only do they do their own maintenance, they also do maintenance on British Airways and Air France planes.