South African Airways

Long-time routes cut to preserve airline.

With the top ten carrying more than 60 million passengers between them, Routesonline counts down the largest African airlines and looks at their performance over the past 12 months.

In an open and candid interview, Vuyani Jarana, South African Airways’ former CEO, will share his view on the challenges the carrier faces, next month in Mombasa.

This week: THAI Smile to become Star Alliance connecting partner; Wizz to base sixth aircraft in Vienna; IATA downgrades airline profit forecast and more.

Four years after operating its last service to mainland China, South African Airways is set to return to the market later this year. It is also negotiating a codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines.

This week: Tributes paid to Southwest Airlines founder; Qatar Airways takes stake in China Southern; Neeleman’s latest venture firms up A220 order; VINCI Airports to make £2.9bn Gatwick investment and more.

The second part of our review of 2018 features World Routes taking place in Guangzhou; the failure of European leisure operator Primera Air; Singapore Airlines regaining the crown as the operator of the world’s longest flight; and Routesonline reveals the busiest passenger air routes in the world. Plus the return of Routes Africa and Brexit uncertainty rumbles on.

This week: Spirit prepares for Orlando expansion; new Aer Lingus CEO; $13bn plan unveiled for New York JFK; Corendon to open second Turkish base and more.

South African Airways chief executive Vuyani Jarana and Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Tewolde GebreMariam were among the speakers at Routes Africa 2018.

Our top five stories this week: Diplomatic crisis 'will not block Qatar Airways' growth'; World Routes 2018 Marketing Awards; Ryanair's Dublin cuts; Italy in focus; SAA targets partnerships and more.

Pumla Luhabe tells Routes Africa conference that the carrier is looking west to re-balance its network.

After less than a year in the role Vuyani Jarana outlined his turnaround plans for South African Airways, including bringing a "culture of winning" to the carrier.

Key figures from the international aviation industry are gathering in Accra, Ghana for the 11th Routes Africa. The event, which is the continent’s longest-standing aviation forum bringing together leading airlines, airports and tourism authorities, comes at a time when the market is growing rapidly.

Routesonline reveals the largest African carriers, with the top ten carrying almost 60 million passengers between them last year.

In the first of our new features, we take a closer look at one of the airlines registered for an upcoming Routes event.

Routesonline analyses the African aviation industry, taking a monthly look at the top routes served and revealing the airlines that are dominating the market. We also rank the top ten airports by available seat capacity and examine the most common aircraft used.

As South Africa’s major airports set new passenger records, the country’s tourism boom could help alleviate its economic woes

The airline has agreed to initially acquire five E-Jets - three E170s and two E190s, from ECC Leasing, a wholly-owned Embraer subsidiary. It will start to receive the aircraft in the first half of this year with a further eight E190s joining the Airlink fleet subject to formalisation of lease deals.

South African low-cost carrier Mango will help launch a new Connecting Partner Model from global airline grouping Star Alliance as it seeks to further expand its network reach. The South African Airways (SAA) subsidiary will be the first ‘low-cost’ or ‘hybrid’ carrier to introduce its network into that of the wider grouping.

WATCH the World Routes Strategy Summit on stage interview between our Head of Content & Industry Relations, Michael Miller and Nico Bezuidenhout, Chief Executive Officer, Mango and up until very recently also acting Chief Executive Officer, South African Airways.

South African Airways are offering a discount on flights to all delegates travelling to Durban.

South African Airways (SAA) has continued the implementation of its long-term turnaround strategy across the business to combat declining demand.

Both Air China and China Southern have recently announced plans for new services to Africa to commence in the coming months.

In what is described as a new era of cooperation between the two national flag carriers, SAA will introduce the daily link from March 29, 2015, which will complement Etihad Airways’ existing flights between the two cities to offer a combined double-daily frequency on the route.

The enhanced focus on the African market is a key part of the carrier’s Long-Term Turnaround Strategy, and is in response to positive market growth. Over the course of the first week of December 2014, SAA is adding another seven weekly flights across four routes.