Seems that while SAA is getting new A332's it is not increasing its fleet and is losing the A342's that everyone hates.

However i was reading on Avcom that SAA have now also lost 3 737-800s...with one going to Mango and two that it is not renewing the leases on. Sending one to Mango is understandable, but not renewing the leases on the other two is crazy imo considering that they need planes for expansion and should not be cutting back.

That puts two 737-800s back on the SA market for another player to scoop up... Velvet Sky?

To further clarify, this info is from the link below. The 3 planes will leave the mainline SAA fleet end of January

http://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=72754

SAA must have pretty solid reasons for this move (see the Avcom link) but on the face of it it is a decision that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Regional expansion is the corner stone of their growth and so they reduce their fleet size? Interesting.

Maybe they are planning to pull out of the local market altogether, and only focus on regional/long distance? And leave local to Mango.

^^ with mango only getting one extra plane to do that? unlikely.

Maybe they are planning to pull out of the local market altogether, and only focus on regional/long distance? And leave local to Mango.

They CAN'T. If they do, they will forfeit their codeshare agreements with numerous Star Alliance airline partners, as many of these agreements are the reason all flights go to JNB only, whilst SAA carries passengers on to DBN or CPT. Thus, why SAA dropped DBN-CPT and not the JNB routes.

Cutting SAA service from JNB to other airports would result in Star Alliance partner passengers being stranded in Johannesburg.

Alot of mention is made lately of increasing the aircraft utilisation. I think SAA has a very low utilisation in comparison with many other airlines (local and international). So, even with less aircraft, expansion is still possible if reducing the turn-around times and time on the ground at JNB. Many of the current African flights spend the night at the destination (NBO, DAR, EBB) and I think many of the aircraft is spending way too much time sitting around in JNB. The long-haul aircraft won't really be given less time at European airports, but can be turned around quicker in North and South America, Asia and Perth. Then it is possible that SAA could reduce frequency domestically (or say JNB-CPT) but rather use the larger aircraft more on the route, freeing up more 737.

That is a point, the A332's will have 222 capacity or there about and so will offer a good 70 seats on their 738s. If the4se planes are just sitting around waiting to fly back to london i would agree with the logic of using them to CPT or DUR is the need is there. Would be good to see bigger planes operating on the domestics routes

oops

SAA loses planes after 'slip-up'
Jan 13 2011 06:37

James-Brent Styan

Johannesburg - At the end of January South African Airways (SAA) has to return two aircraft it is currently leasing once their lease contracts expire.

It is rumoured that the airline's management forgot to renew the contracts. On Wednesday SAA spokesperson Fani Zulu declined to confirm or deny that this had accidentally occurred.

At the time of going to press Zulu did however confirm that the airline soon had to return the Boeing 737-800s.

He also confirmed that SAA would relinquish a third Boeing to Mango, its low-cost subsidiary.

But Zulu said that the loss of the three aircraft was no "train smash".

He said that their loss in no way meant that any of SAA's existing routes or frequencies would be affected. On the contrary, the company still planned to expand its network in 2011, which would be made possible by, for instance, more effective management of its existing aircraft.

Zulu said that the loss of the aircraft would be a problem only if the airline could no longer meet its commitments.

It was unclear who had been responsible for the renewing of the contracts and the airline was in a meeting until late on Wednesday to discuss the situation.

SAA has a poor history with regard to airline contracts. Last year, for instance, it came to light that it had neglected to cancel an Airbus contract for new aircraft. It had erroneously believed the contracts to have been cancelled.

The two 737s that will be lost are an important part of SAA's domestic and regional operations.

The airline expects to acquire new Airbus A320s to replace the Boeings only in 2013.

SAA currently has 21 of these Boeing 737-800s, which can transport 157 passengers, in service.

The company's balance sheet is seriously under pressure with heavy gearing. It is therefore possible that the airline could benefit from the lapsing of the contracts.

Zulu declined to comment on this possibility.

Ultimately, he said, it was up to the company itself what it did with its aircraft. The existing fleet could perhaps be used more efficiently without cutting down on frequencies. Should that be so, it would imply inefficiencies in the manner in which the company had previously operated its aircraft.

Kathy Bill, a spokesperson of the SAA Pilots Association (Saapa), said the airline had already informed it that that the lease agreements for the two aircrafts had not been renewed.

Discussions were being held with the airline to determine the impact of two fewer aircraft. Saapa represents pilots working for the airline.

The state-controlled airline will meanwhile start acquiring new A330-200s. These aircraft, the first of which is expected in the first quarter of 2011, are however destined for long-distance flights such as that between Johannesburg and London.

Anybody know when the first A330 is to arrive, as they're scheduled to go into service in February already.

Similar sort of discussion going on at Avcom:

http://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=72754&start=30

Apart from the normal Avcom 'every silver lining has a cloud' overtones there is some decent information regarding the decision to remove 2 737s from the fleet.