SAA has taken delivery of
two new A320 aircraft –
with more to come – which
will be deployed on SAA’s
domestic and intra-African
routes.
The aircraft arrived earlier
this month. Another is
expected in June, followed
by two in the third quarter
and one towards the end
of the year. The A320s are
configured with 24 seats in
business class and 114 in
economy.
SAA would not specify
which routes the aircraft
would be deployed on.
Spokesperson for Airbus,
Linden Birns, says A320s
are designed for routes
with three- to four-hour
flight time, making them
ideal for domestic routes
and services to African
destinations such as Kenya.
“Business-class seating
offers a 10% improvement
on pitch compared with
our current businessclass
offering on narrowbody
aircraft, giving our
competitors in the domestic
market a run for their
money,” says Myriam
Bracke, SAA product
manager.
The fuel-efficient aircraft
feature a back compartment
on all business-class
seats, with the exception
of the first two rows, where
passengers are able to
store a PC tablet and make
use of a USB power point
to keep the tablet charged
during the flight, as well
as a PC power console for
additional laptop computer
power.
Further innovations
are also in the pipeline,
including Samsung tablets
with in-flight entertainment
already loaded – a service
that will be offered to
business-class travellers on
longer African flights.
