South African Airways (SAA) is progressively rebuilding its fleet and network, adding five Airbus A320s, an A330 and temporarily two Boeing 737-800s to be used for network restoration ahead of the busy Christmas season.

Two years ago, SAA resumed operations after an 18-month hiatus for restructuring. When it relaunched in September 2021, SAA operated just four routes. Since then, its network has grown to 13 domestic and regional destinations.

“By March 2025, this number will increase to 22—three intercontinental, 15 regional, and four domestic,” SAA said in a Sept. 22 update.

According to OAG data, SAA currently flies to Accra (Ghana), Blantyre (Malawi), Cape Town (South Africa), Durban (South Africa), Harare (Zimbabwe), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Johannesburg, Lagos (Nigeria), Lilongwe (Malawi), Lusaka (Zambia), Mauritius, Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), and Windhoek (Namibia).

“Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town have increased and are now surpassing pre-pandemic levels,” SAA interim CEO John Lamola said. “With the festive season upon us, our presence in the domestic skies will provide passengers with a greater number of options.” 

Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire is one of the new routes launching on Nov. 14. However, the most significant addition is Sao Paulo, marking SAA’s first scheduled long-haul operations flights since the grounding and restructuring. SAA will launch Cape Town-Sao Paulo in October, followed by Johannesburg-Sao Paulo in November. Prior to the pandemic, SAA operated seven long-haul routes from Johannesburg, including Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Munich, New York JFK, Perth, and Sao Paulo.

“Our return to the international skies is proof of our positive progress over the past two years, and I am confident that in the coming years, we will be able to open new routes both domestically and internationally,” Lamola said.

This growth will be supported by a larger fleet. SAA currently operates seven aircraft, including five A320s, one A330, and one A340.

“Following technical checks and maintenance, the recently arrived A320 will bring this figure up to eight,” SAA said. “The recent leasing of an Airbus A320 forms part of SAA’s strategic expansion plans, with its long-term vision being the leasing of six new aircraft to meet the demand for domestic flights, providing passengers with additional travel options. With the remaining four A320s and another A330 due to arrive soon, its fleet will comprise 13 aircraft, excluding two Boeing 737-800s, which are expected later this year.”

SAA excludes the two 737-800s from its total fleet numbers, because they are being brought in on an interim basis. “It is temporary, SAA only has Airbus aircraft in its fleet and not Boeing aircraft,” a spokeswoman explained.

Back in July, SAA said it was wet-leasing a 737 for a limited time to expand its domestic network, because of industry-wide constraints on aircraft availability. This 737 had a high-density, all-economy layout, rather than SAA’s normal full-service configuration, triggering the carrier to offer a “hybrid fleet service” with “specialized prices.”

African airlines often prefer to acquire aircraft outright, rather than leasing, but Lamola has opted to lease so SAA can match capacity with market requirements. He said resilience and strategic growth are key considerations in SAA’s recovery.

Lamola said SAA is aiming to regain its “once-dominant position,” as a leading African and global airline.