South African Airways

1 · POSITION

South African Airways presents its long-haul Business Class as a bed. The airline states that the seat lies completely flat at 180 degrees under a soft duvet, and that on its A330-300 the new design of flat-bed is almost two metres long when fully extended. Each of those seats is given increased privacy, individual aisle access and more personal stowage. Short-haul Business Class is a different proposition: generous legroom, leg rests and a coat hook. [1]

2 · THE TABLE IS NATIONAL

The cabin page names an à la carte menu, a South African cheese board and a selected wine list. The menu page names South African wines and Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine, and signature dishes created with chefs the airline calls accomplished. A vegetarian option is always carried. Special meals must be ordered and confirmed no less than 48 hours before departure, and kosher meals no less than 72 hours. [1, 2]

3 · THE GROUND ROOMS AT OR TAMBO

At OR Tambo International the airline runs a Platinum lounge and a Premium lounge, both reached from the duty free area of international departures. The Premium room is described with private shower suites, buffet dining through the day, meeting suites, focus booths and a quiet zone. A separate arrivals lounge offers showers, a clothes pressing service and a continental breakfast. Domestic lounges are held at Cape Town, Durban and Gqeberha. [3]

4 · A PROGRAMME OF REOPENINGS

The lounges are being rebuilt in sequence rather than at once. The airline records the Platinum lounge at OR Tambo as renovated and reopened in March 2024, and Gqeberha as reopened in July 2024. Cape Town was published as due to reopen in July 2025, with the OR Tambo domestic lounge and Durban to follow after it. No dates are given for those last two. A lounge estate under rolling renovation is a different offer from a finished one. [3]

5 · ⚑ CANDOUR

⚑ The two-metre figure and the flat-bed description are given for the A330-300 and must not be read across the fleet; short-haul Business Class is a reclining seat. Award-winning, applied to the seat, is the airline’s own claim. The July 2025 Cape Town date was published as a plan and these pages do not establish that it was met. No opening date is given for the new international lounge at OR Tambo. Nothing fetched addresses the register’s founding year of 1934. [1–3]