SAA rebuilds network with hired European planes

South African Airways (SAA) will be hiring aircraft from Europe’s SunExpress for some time to come in the future.    

Passengers taking SAA flights should get used to flying in certain planes that outwardly appear different from the national carrier’s other aircraft.

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This is because the state-run airline has entered an agreement with a European-based airline that has spare aircraft available during the European winter months.  

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SAA LEASED PLANES

SA Airways currently operates several domestic flights with leased aircraft, from European airline SunExpress. 

SA’s state-owned airline currently has two Boeing 737 jets on hire for the South African summer season – when there is high demand for flights.

Furthermore, SunExpress has agreed to send four aircraft to South Africa in the 2024/2025 European winter season, which is the peak summer season for SAA.

The deal is a win-win situation for both airlines. SunExpress benefits by being able to lease its aircraft to other carriers when these are not being utilised.  

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SCALING UP

SAA has chosen to go this route because it is battling to scale up its flight schedule at this time. 

This is due to a global shortage of aircraft since the Covid-19 pandemic which saw many airlines grounding planes and decommissioning certain aircraft types.

This has resulted in a surge in demand for new planes in post-pandemic times as airlines seek to restructure or renew their fleets.

LOSING MARKET SHARE

While SA’s national airline was grounded for 18 months until late 2021 it lost market share to other airlines that started picking up routes it once operated.   

Since restarting flights in 2021 SAA has battled to ramp up its operations due to a shortage of aircraft.

SAA CAPACITY ISSUES

The new arrangement enables South African Airways to build up its flight schedule without having to make long-term commitments for aircraft while trying to rebuild capacity.

The airline currently has a fleet of 13 aircraft. SAA operates an all-Airbus fleet made up of several A320s, two A330-300s and an A340-300.

SUNEXPRESS

According to Aviationweek, SunExpress is a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines.

The leisure airline operates flights between Turkey and several European destinations mainly during the European summer.

Turkey is a tourist hotspot during the summer months. Therefore, SunExpress’ European operations are seasonal. 

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