About Airport

South African Airways, established in’34, 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.

Employees receive intensive advanced training programs to help SAA maintain its reputation for excellent customer service. 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.

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.

In’34 the first cities served by SAA were Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. Later, SAA added flights to Kenya, British East Africa and Uganda signaling an entrance to the international market. In WWII the airline was more or less shut down but by’45 SAA had achieved it’s long term goal of opening a European route by introducing a flight to Bournemouth.

The SAA brought the 707 to it’s airline in the’50′s. It was the next one in line, after the UK, to operate a pure jetliner flight. These jets would finally start to fly non-stop to the UK and it’s European neighbors within two years. Then New York was added as a stop in’69. The fleet now claims a fleet of more than 45 aircraft.

The Voyager program, SAA’s loyalty membership, has some 2 million members. Members are able to receive airmiles on SAA flights as well as other airlines in the Star Alliance. Millions are invested every year by SAA on in-flight entertainment which is a big part of their commitment to customer service. Customers will have a choice of more than a dozen movie channels, video games, music or 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.

South African Airways offers lots of great features in their first class cabins. The beds could well be the widest in the industy, being 29 inches wide. They lie flat at’0 degress. Each seat has an ottoman that can be controlled electronically. There are also big, private televisions with on-demand audio and video. So kick back in those comfy seats and enjoy a show!

Business class travelers enjoy most comforts during their travel. Starting from the fully adjustable seats with an adjustable headrest and pneumatic lumbar support to the large private television screens with the audio-video-on-demand.

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.

With the largest maintenance facility in Africa at Johannesburg, safety is a priority for SAA. The airline handles its own maintenance while offering maintenance services to British Airways and Air France.

Tom Martens is the content syndication coordinator for South Arica’s leading Flight comparison portal, which includes South African Airways amongst others.