In late June I wrote about an exciting update for struggling South African Airways -- the airline would be leasing some Airbus A350s. SAA has been on the brink of liquidation for years, with an inefficient fleet, inefficient route network, and debt that they can't repay. Yesterday I wrote about how the airline took delivery…
Continue reading: South African Airways Reveals A350 Plans
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I will also fly SAA JFK-JNB next April. haha Hopefully, you're correct in your prediction.
Looks like they'll be getting another 3 in the next few weeks:
Hopefully they will be deployed on other routes and not just JNB-JFK
@Ben (Lucky) - Exactly who is the "we" you refer to multiple times in this post.
(although I don't think you will respond/answer this question)
SAA will be receiving 4 A350’s:
ZS-SDC - ex Hainan B-304Z
ZS-SDD - ex Hainan B-305Z
ZS-SDE - On lease from Air Mauritius, will be delivered straight to SAA
ZS-SDF - On lease from Air Mauritius, will be delivered straight to SAA
From what I’ve heard cabin crew and flight crew have been trained, and need to do sectors.
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On a side note, Tito Mboweni - the RSA finance ministers has said that government will repay SAA’s R9,2B of debt.
I hope they use them on the JNB-GRU route.
By the way, I often actually prefer the 2-2-2 business class configuration to some 1-2-1 configurations. I flew the UA 777 1-2-1 configuration and Air Canada 787 1-2-1 configuration last week. I found them both very tight and uncomfortable. Sure there is more privacy, but the seats are tight.
The old Qatar 777 2-2-2 or SAA 330 2-2-2 in business are more comfortable for me. Intake the middle 2 and hope for an empty seat next to me. Am I the only one that likes the 2-2-2?
Lucky, is it worth noting that SAA's A333 product is far superior to any of the above offerings?
Totally agree. I love Turkish's business on the A330+777 for precisely that reason. The seats are large and comfortable. In fact I find this much better than staggered configurations (like ANA) and even some 1-2-1 configs.
I LOVE the 2-2-2 seats. I've flown them on Qatar several times and while not the most innovative, they are HUGE, and so comfortable. I don't feel like I'm in a little sky coffin, I have room all around me and it's incredibly comfortable.
I think for SAA 2-2-2 makes sense - South Africa is mostly a leasure destination, and many couples travel on their routes (so do we).
So in my eyes: i think its ok 😉
I also prefer the 2-2-2 seat configuration especially when travelling with someone. It feels a lot more spacious and I understand how some people think not having aisle access is a huge downgrade but for such a long flight, saying 'excuse me' to the person next to you is not a big deal (at least not to me.)
Wait, just one aircraft for NYC-JNB? So it will be a mixed fleet op or is it not a daily flight? I thought SA would need at least two aircraft for daily schedule. What am I missing?
Our national carrier is bankrupt. In the 1970's it was one of the world's best airlines flying 747-SP's all over the world. Let's see if they can keep up with the lease payments.
Personally, as much as I'd like to support SAA, I'd rather fly Delta. Last time I flew SAA biz class, the service and food was terrible. The crew wasn't given the tools to make a bad experience better. I'm sure it was due to their financial problems.
1. I really agree with those of you who prefer 2-2-2!
2. @Lucky - the pictures in this post are wrong. One of the two pictures of the LATAM/Hainan cabin is correct, the first one. The second one is of their 787, which has a slightly different interior. The second picture, of the 787, has identical seats to e.g. TK, whereas the first picture, of the A350, has a modified version of the seat with different details.