SAA accelerates airline partnerships and fleet expansion

South African Airways (SAA) is accelerating its network with new codeshare agreements and fleet growth in 2026.

The state-owned carrier aims to enhance African connectivity and expand long-haul operations.

SAA signed a codeshare with TAAG at the African Airlines Association meeting in Luanda, adding its flight code to services from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Luanda. TAAG gains access to SAA destinations including Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, Harare and Lusaka.

Tebogo Tsimane, SAA’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Our plan from the beginning, in the post-pandemic period, was that we would grow our aircraft capacity and also our virtual capacity. We are now seeing an acceleration of this plan.”

Other codeshares with Turkish Airlines, Air Botswana, Air Zimbabwe, Air Eswatini and United Airlines are expected, adding to existing deals with CemAir, Lufthansa and Emirates.

SAA currently operates 14 Airbus A320s, two A340-300s and two A330-300s. Further aircraft, including a fifth A320 and two A330-200s, are delayed to 2026.

Tsimane added: “This capacity is important to improve our codeshares and our connectivity because we are a network carrier and we are building a connecting schedule around Johannesburg, and then secondarily, around Cape Town.”

Additional A330s are planned for the second half of 2026 while a fleet renewal strategy is prepared. The airline is preparing a request for proposals for more narrowbody and widebody aircraft before year-end.

SAA is targeting long-haul markets including Washington, New York, Bangkok, Mumbai, Guangzhou, London and Frankfurt to expand its network and strengthen South Africa’s global aviation presence.

Discover how SAA is fast-tracking fleet growth and partnerships to capture new markets across Africa and worldwide in the full story.