South African Airways has finally given details of leases for new aircraft that will be used to restart the Perth to Johannesburg route as well as London and Frankfurt services.
Speaking to Southern and East African Tourism Update Carla da Silva, GM Sales, Marketing, e-Commerce and Distribution for South African Airways said the airline had secured leases on aircraft to support its 2024 corporate plan.
Three aircraft will arrive in January and the airline will have 21 in its fleet by the end of 2024 – up from six currently.
Da Silva said the airline hoped to publish its Perth schedule next week for a March 2024 launch.
By next year, SAA will have 21 aircraft in its fleet, with the arrival of three aircraft in January. An Airbus A350 was also on the horizon, she said.
SEAT said that the availability of aircraft has allowed SAA to focus on resuming routes, following a period of about 18 months in which the airline was grounded due to bankruptcy. It resumed a pared-back service in September 2021, and has slowly been reintroducing flights and operations.
Da Silva told SEAT that SAA had returned to profitability and was currently able to operate its schedule and routes without the need for any bailout or additional funding.
“We are profitable as we sit. There are some routes that are not profitable, but there are routes making up for that,” she said.
SEAT said that next on the list of international priorities for the national carrier are the resumption of the London and Frankfurt routes, which each require two aircraft. Following on from that, SAA is looking to reintroduce its New York and Washington routes.
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