South African Airways (SAA) has added two leased A320s to its fleet, taking its total number of aircraft to 20.
The two aircraft, leased from Dublin based AerCap, are part of a plan to expand the airline’s fleet by five aircraft during 2025. These additional planes will enable SAA to add seat capacity in both domestic and regional markets, noted John Lamola, interim CEO at SAA.
“SAA’s fleet growth comes as the airline enters a phase of consolidation, increasing the frequency of flights to service an existing route network, to ensure South African leisure and business travellers enjoy more direct access to major African cities,” added Lamola.
Alongside the addition of new aircraft, SAA has also launched a new service between Dar es Salam and Johannesburg, while expanding frequencies to Harare and Luska.
This fleet and network expansion comes after pilots from the South African flag-carrier suspended strike action in December after the airline’s executive management and the South African Airways Pilots Association (SAAPA) struck a wage agreement, resulting in a total salary increase of 9.47% for South African Airways pilots.