In this file photo ground crew at work near an SAA plane on the tarmac at ORT International Airport. File photo: Karen Sandison/Independent Newspapers
There was fresh wind under the wings of SAA this week as it celebrated the momentous occasion of the airline regaining its route to to Perth, Australia.
The airline’s first relaunched flight takes off from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport this evening, and lands at Perth Airport tomorrow at around midday, Australian Western Standard Time.
The airline exited business rescue three-years ago after being decimated amid the Covid-19 national shutdowns but is recovering.
International tourist arrivals from January to December 2023 in South Africa surged by 48.9%, to 8.5 million, versus the comparative period, according to Statistics South Africa.
SAA said: “This is an important route for both SAA and South Africa. Perth has long been a favoured destination for South African travellers. Approximately 80% of our target market travel there regularly to visit family and friends.”
SAA has placed its top team to lead the way. Commandeering the flight is chief SAA pilot Paul Wilson who is joined by Captain Vusi Khumalo.
Of note, Khumalo was the captain who, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, flew the SAA aircraft that went to the epicentre of Covid at the time, China, to fetch South Africans who were stranded there.
SAA held an event on Thursday evening to mark the key milestone.
SAA interim CEO Professor John Lamola said the Perth route built on the successes of SAA’s launch of the São Paulo intercontinental route six months ago.
Lamola said: “SAA’s return to Perth also marks a triumph for the airline itself. It speaks to the hard work that’s underpinned the renewal of South Africa’s national carrier and is an important step towards realising the airline’s strategic growth plans.”
Host for the event, presenter Lerato Mbele, paid tribute to those who had built the airline to where it is today.
She said: “Aviation is nothing without the pilots that commandeer that big bird in the skies. And so, we want to take this opportunity today in honour of World Pilot's day tomorrow (Saturday) and in celebration of the fact that South African Airways this year will be turning 90, to really give tribute to those who have built this airline and made it what it is, a real ambassador for South Africa and indeed for Africa, and a competitive airline in the world in which we are today.”
Three flights a week
SAA is offering a thrice-a-week service between Johannesburg and Perth, with flight departures and arrivals timed for passengers’ convenience. Flights depart each city late in the evening, with arrivals in Johannesburg in the early morning and at around midday in Perth. This allows travellers to arrive in each city with sufficient daylight ahead to begin their holiday or business trip, or take a connecting flight to another destination. SAA’s Star Alliance membership means travellers can connect easily to destinations across the world.
South African Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan said the reintroduction of flights to Perth was good news for the entire country.
“This is a sign that more intercontinental flights, not only through codeshares but by SAA in its own right, are unfolding; and ultimately, the beneficiaries will be South Africans,” Gordhan said.
“Not only will the Perth route give business and leisure travellers greater travel options for visiting South Africa, but it will also see the linking and alignment of Africa’s most industrialised, technologically advanced and diversified economy with large and significant economies in the Australasian region and beyond through air cargo.”
As SAA struggles to turn itself around, it is facing volatile currents.
Last month, the controversial take-over of the ailing state-owned airline SAA by the Takatso Consortium collapsed.
This came three years after the Takatso deal was announced, in which it was slated to take over a majority stake, 51%, in the airline.
On Friday, reports emerged that Parliament’s portfolio committee on public enterprises had recommended that the Special Investigating Unit probe the collapsed deal.
The committee had recommended that the SIU be brought in to probe the SAA-Takatso deal, following allegations that the deal was not above board.
Gordhan has threatened to take the committee to court over its call for the SIU to probe the matter.
He has denied any wrongdoing in the deal.
BUSINESS REPORT