South African Airways has gradually been increasing its services with induction of more aircraft
South African Airways (SAA), the flag carrier of South Africa, has announced another increase in the number of services between its hub at Johannesburg in South Africa and Perth, capital of Western Australia.
In a press statement, SAA, which is a member of the Star Alliance, says that while it returned to Perth in January with three services per week, it has added a fourth service. It will ramp up the frequency to Perth further in January 2025 with the addition of the fifth weekly flight.
The airline says it operates the Johannesburg-Perth service on a two-class Airbus A340-300 aircraft which has a total of 253 seats configured with 38 business class seats and 215 economy class seats. Chief Commercial and Aviation Officer of Perth Airport, Kate Holsgrove, says South African Airways adding more services into Perth is great news for Perth and Western Australia.
Kate Holsgrove
“The increase to five services per week on the airline’s Airbus A340-300 aircraft will result in 131,560 seats being available on the route per year which is a massive bump to the Perth market. This is great news for Perth and Western Australian residents who have family connections in South Africa and for those looking to travel and explore the African continent,” says Holsgrove.
SAA currently operates just four long-haul aircraft, two A340-300s and two A330-300s, with two additional A330-300s confirmed to rejoin its fleet in 2025. In addition to Perth, the carrier’s long-haul network at the moment only includes Sao Paulo in Brazil. Regionally, SAA is operating a growing number of A320s to destinations within a four-hour radius.
Next month, the airline will also resume flights to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. This followed the resumption of services to Lubumbashi last month, as well as frequency increases on flights to Harare, Accra, Lagos, Lusaka and Kinshasa.