The new Airbus A330-300 has 249 seats – 46 in business class and 203 in economy class. The A330 has 68 fewer seats than the 317-seat A340-600 (42 in premium business class and 275 in economy class) that was previously used on the route.

SAA’s head of media relations, Tlali Tlali, said aircraft deployment was based on demand and if there was a demand , the airline had an aircraft available and would respond accordingly. He said decisions were based on the efficiency of operations, informed by demand.

This service will be for the Washington-Dakar route.