South African Airways

South African Airways is the country's flag carrier and operates the only South Africa-registered fleet covering domestic, regional African and selected long-haul markets. After the 2020-2021 restructuring, SAA emerged with a leaner network focused on the routes where its hub at OR Tambo has structural advantages: domestic trunk flying, regional links into Southern Africa, key East and West Africa lanes, and a returning long-haul presence to São Paulo and Perth. The airline is a Star Alliance member, which means SAA Voyager miles credit on flights with Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, United and the rest of the alliance — useful for travellers building toward status or award redemptions.

What SAA does best is the combined ticket: one booking that takes you from a regional African city through Johannesburg to Cape Town or Durban without separate baggage transfers or fare jumps. For travellers connecting from Harare, Windhoek, Lusaka or Maputo into onward South African cities, SAA tickets are often cheaper than the equivalent Airlink-plus-FlySafair combination once you factor in the second baggage charge. Cabin product on the long-haul routes is competitive — flat-bed business and a refreshed economy hard product as of late 2024. Refundability and change rules vary sharply by fare brand, so confirm the rules at checkout rather than relying on past experience with the airline.