The airline company South African Airways will relaunch intercontinental flights in the fall, a first for nearly four years, serving Sao Paulo in Brazil since The cap Then johannesburg.
From October 31, 2023, the South African national carrier will offer two flights per week between Capetown and the airport of Sao Paulo-Guarulhos, operated by Airbus A340-300 that can accommodate 38 passengers in Business class and 215 in Economy. Departures are scheduled according to AeroRoutes on Tuesday and Saturday at 12:55 p.m. to arrive at 4:35 p.m., with return flights leaving Brazil at 6:05 p.m. to land the next day at 6:40 a.m.
South African Airways will have no competition on this route, unlike the one serving the same Brazilian airport from Johannesburg OR Tambo one week later: the SAA A340-300 will then take off on Monday and Thursday at 11:20 a.m. (arrival at 4:35 p.m.) and will leave Sao Paulo at 6:05 p.m. (arrival the following day at 6:40 a.m.). LATAM plans to relaunch this axis at the beginning of September.
These connections mark the company’s return to Star Alliance on intercontinental flights, following a restructuring that began in December 2019, even before the Covid-19 pandemic. South African Airways exited the process in May 2021, and has since begun to rebuild its network.
” Our decision to relaunch our long-haul service to São Paulo was made based on a rigorous analysis of the viability of the route. Sustainability has been at the heart of SAA’s approach since our restart said John Lamola, interim CEO of SAA.
It will take a little longer to see the African company relaunch direct flights to London, Frankfurt, Munich, New York-JFK, Hong Kong or Perth. In particular because of a long-haul fleet reduced to one A340-300 and one A330-300 (it also has five A320s. However, it should quickly rent an A330 and five additional single-aisle aircraft.
