South African Airways has disclosed an agreement to lease two Airbus A350-900s to modernize their ageing widebody fleet.
Set to be introduced towards the end of the year, the aircraft will be used to replace A340-600s operating Johannesburg – New York JFK flights.
Powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB, the A350-900 will offer South African Airways a 20 percent reduction in fuel burn compared to the A340.
Looking at their current widebody fleet, we can determine that the A350-900 will offer some pretty beneficial changes in terms of: fuel efficiency, performance and passenger comfort.
| Aircraft | Fleet Count |
| A340-600 | 9 |
| A340-300 | 7 |
| A330-200 | 6 |
| A330-300 | 5 |
“The introduction of these state-of-the-art aircraft to our fleet is an important step-change as we continue to make progress to transform our business and return the airline to financial sustainability in the shortest time possible.”
Acting SAA CEO, Zukisa Ramasia
The aircraft will be configured in a three class layout, with 245 economy seats, featuring extra legroom seats in the first six rows. No figure has been provided for business class just yet.