South African Airways will resume direct flights to São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) from O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airport (CPT). The airline uses Johannesburg as its main hub and Cape Town as its focus city.

This is the first time South African Airways has operated direct flights between Johannesburg and São Paulo since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Meanwhile, the second route will be the first route to São Paulo from Cape Town. 

The Johannesburg-São Paulo service will compete against the same service LATAM Brasil plans to resume on September 2. In Latin America, South African Airways has previously offered nonstop flights to Galeão International Airport (GIG) in Rio de Janeiro and Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) in Buenos Aires.

Tickets for the flights came on sale for the first time on June 29. The flights departing from Cape Town and Johannesburg will launch on October 31 and November 6, respectively.

The Cape Town-São Paulo service will be offered on Tuesdays and Saturdays while the Johannesburg-São Paulo route will operate on Mondays and Thursdays.

[JNB, GRU], [CPT, GRU]

South African Airways flight SA 226 will depart from Cape Town at 12:55 pm South African Standard Time (SAST) and arrive in São Paulo at 4:35 pm Brasília Time (BRT). Flight SA 227 will leave São Paulo at 6:05 pm and arrive in Cape Town at 6:40 am the next day. This schedule is expected to exist during the northern winter season from October to December.

Meanwhile, South African Airways flight SA 222 will depart Johannesburg at 11:20 am SAST and arrive in São Paulo at 4:15 pm BRT. Flight SA 223 will leave São Paulo at 5:45 pm BRT and arrive in Johannesburg at 7:45 am SAST the next day.

Tebogo Tsimane, Chief Commercial Officer of South African Airways, said: "We have created an effective schedule which is ideal for both business and leisure travelers and our schedule is fantastic for connecting traffic. Our Voyager members can also earn miles at an accelerated rate when flying on an SAA operated flight, 1 SAA Voyager mile for every R1.60 spend and the accumulation of miles, counts towards Elite status."

John Lamola, Interim Chief Executive Officer of South African Airways, added: "We are overjoyed to announce São Paulo as our first international destination since the airline successfully emerged from an intensive Business Rescue process and COVID-19 lockdown. It also marks our return of our long-haul service out of Cape Town. The teams at SAA are working hard behind the scenes to gear our operations for this much anticipated route launch to South America."

 

Lamola also highlighted the importance of sustainability and rigorous analysis of new routes' viability before launching them. He stressed that passengers would be offered South African hospitality and award-winning customer service on the upcoming flights.

Furthermore, South African Airways has appointed Air Promotion Group as the airline's General Sales Agent in Brazil.

São Paulo is the most populous city in Brazil and the country's financial center. The city is also the largest city in the Americas, the Western Hemisphere, and the Southern Hemisphere. Furthermore, São Paulo is the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world.