South African Airways Seeks To Join Star Alliance

[TravelDude]

just witness SIA frin Singapore to LAX nonstop on A345.

But, if I recall reading correctly that aircraft for SIA is not fully equipped with all the seats SIA wanted. They had to lower the seat count to make weight.

Anyone else recall reading this?

 

[chexfan]

But, if I recall reading correctly that aircraft for SIA is not fully equipped with all the seats SIA wanted. They had to lower the seat count to make weight.

Anyone else recall reading this?

Yea. SQ flies the A345 w/ 64 in Raffles class and 117 in an "enhanced" Economy class.

 

[JFK777]

From JFK to JNB is about 14 hours,
LESS then 18 hours from LAX to SIN so there would be none or very little weight restriction for an A345. Weight restrictions would occur on the flight northward from JNB to JFK. This would be about 15 and half hour or 16; I would like to know two things;

1. Could a A345 fly from the elevation of JNB nonstop to JFk?

2. Would the weight penalty, if any , be prohibitive?

I always here how high JNB is but JNB to HKG and JNB to SYD happen daily. I it just those 6500 to 7000 miles routes are the extreme envelope or is JFk about 7900 mile from JNB still too far for an A345?

 

[Just Plane Crazy]

From JFK to JNB is about 14 hours,
LESS then 18 hours from LAX to SIN so there would be none or very little weight restriction for an A345. Weight restrictions would occur on the flight northward from JNB to JFK. This would be about 15 and half hour or 16; I would like to know two things;

1. Could a A345 fly from the elevation of JNB nonstop to JFk?

2. Would the weight penalty, if any , be prohibitive?

I always here how high JNB is but JNB to HKG and JNB to SYD happen daily. I it just those 6500 to 7000 miles routes are the extreme envelope or is JFk about 7900 mile from JNB still too far for an A345?

SAA makes the trip JNB to JFK Non-Stop on a B744. So making it with an A340 will be easy. And making the Trip JNB - LAX or JNB - ORD with a A345 will not have the challanges SIA has on its (LAX - SIN) route.

I don't think that taking of from JNB will cause any weight penalties.

And yes, ATL will not be for much longer a SAA Destination.

 

[MAH4546]

IMHO, SAA will continue flying to JFK because of the local New York traffic base. I could also see them returning to MIA, perhaps thrice weekly, due to the relatively large South African population living there (at least according to MAH4546). But for connections to UA (and even some to AC), SAA will almost certainly fly to IAD. This also takes advantage of Washington's decent-sized local market to Africa, which IIRC is substantially bigger than those of PHL and CLT, and it might even be larger than ORD's. And I don't believe that the proximity of JFK and IAD (about 230 miles) is an issue since SAA would be using the two airports for largely different purposes.

Yes, Miami's South African population is one of the largest in the world, and the largest on this side of the hemisphere.

I think we will be seeing a combination of these services:

2x weekly JNB-MIA-JNB
2x weekly CPT-MIA-CPT
3x weekly JNB-SID-IAD-JNB

The key O&D markets between South Africa and US/Canada are:
Miami, New York City, Washington, San Francisco, Houston, Toronto, and Los Angeles.

NYC has it's own non-stops, and Star offers connections to all of those except Houston through Miami. IAD can provide other connections, and also has a fair amount of O&D. And, also too note, only airports in Florida are close enough to have round-trip non-stop services. IAD required a northbound non-stop, ORD would require stops both ways. Orlando and Nassau are also two popular vacation destinations for South Africans, and UA codeshare partner Gulfstream offers MIA-MCO/NAS.

Despite limited connections in Miami:
1) O&D traffic is more profitable
2) When someone is going as far as South Africa, double-connecting is not as big a deal, and it sure beats the only other option: via Europe (or GRU/EZE)
3) SAA has interline agreements with many airlines, and interlining is still popular, especially to a market like South Africa.

Also, side note, but Varig also will soon serve Africa. They start JNB service on 5 April 2004.

I am anxious to see what turns out of this. I have my fingers crossed that it means a return to Miami. I think it is likely. Atlanta, though, is a goner.

 

[JFK777]

JUST Plane Crazy,

SAA flies from JFK to JNB nonstop but not to JFK. From JNB to JFK they have to stop with a 744. My question was could A345 fly nonstop from JNB to JFK nonstop given JNB's height above sea level and SAA decision to buy only A340-300 and A346?

 

[Just Plane Crazy]

JUST Plane Crazy,

SAA flies from JFK to JNB nonstop but not to JFK. From JNB to JFK they have to stop with a 744. My question was could A345 fly nonstop from JNB to JFK nonstop given JNB's height above sea level and SAA decision to buy only A340-300 and A346?

SAA sould be able to make it with a A346 nonstop JNB - JFK. This aircraft has a longer range than the B744. The A343 has a compatible range to the B744.