South African Airways to deploy first A350 to New York

South African Airways (SAA) confirmed (31-Oct-2019) it received the first of four A350-900 aircraft, configured with 30 business and 309 economy class seats. The first aircraft will replace A340-600 equipment on Johannesburg-New York JFK service and all four aircraft are expected to be operational by mid Dec-2019, following regulatory approvals and training. SAA will operate the aircraft for three years. The first two aircraft are nine months old and were previously operated by "another carrier". The second two aircraft will be delivered new from Airbus and will be subleased by SAA from Air Mauritius. SAA acting CEO Zuks Ramasia said the A350s "will contribute to the airline's operational efficiencies" and described the introduction of the aircraft as "a new beginning" and "an important step-change". [more - original PR]