South African Airways (SAA) is the largest airline company in South Africa, offering both domestic and international flights. In the Indo-European language, Afrikaans, spoken mainly in South Africa and Namibia, the airline is known as Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens; however, this name was dropped from official usage in 1997. The airline is a member of the Voyager frequent flyer program and is part of the Star Alliance of airline companies. It is wholly owned by the South African government.
SAA was formed in 1934 by the South African government under the original name, Union Airways. International flights during the company's first decade of operations were limited to the destinations of Kenya and Uganda. Its first flight to Europe did not occur until 1945, and Asia did not become a SAA destination until the 1970s when flights to Hong Kong were introduced.
As of March 2009, SAA owned 88 airplanes, serving 37 destinations. Although the company bases its operations out of Johannesburg, the main hubs served by SAA are O.R. Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport. The most common aircraft in the fleet is the Boeing 737-800 with 17 aircraft. In addition to the African cities served, SAA offers international flights to London, Frankfurt, Munich, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Perth, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, New York and Washington, D.C. SAA serves roughly 6.5 million people each year.
South African Airways was once again profitable in 2008 after making a loss in 2007. It posted a net profit of $123 million before restructuring cost versus a loss of $883 million in 2007. In 2008, the airline had a passenger load factor of 75 percent, the same as the previous year. However, domestic traffic rose more than 27 percent from the previous year. SAA focus for 2007 and 2008 was an overall restructuring of the company to make its operations more cost-effective. This initiative was prompted largely by the enormous loss in 2004 of $8.61 billion.
Like any airline with a history as long as SAA, there have been a handful of plane crashes. Most recently, in November, 1987 a 747 leaving Taipei, Taiwan crashed after a fire in the cargo hold, killing all 159 passengers. In 1968, a six-week-old Boeing 707 crashed due to pilot error, killing 119 people. There have been seven other reported accidents, all of less severity and all occurring before 1968.
In October 2006, all aircraft, apart from the 737 and A319, were equipped with the "lie flat" system in business class, allowing the seats to recline 180 degrees. In economy class, the 737 boasts a seat width of 17.2 inches (only a half nch less than business class) and is able to recline 3.6 inches, versus the five-inch recline ability of the business-class seats.
