SAA took delivery of its first Boeing 747 aircraft in 1971, the same year as El Al. The 747 saw over 30 years' service in the fleet of the South African national carrier before the last aircraft was retired in 2007. Having flown 28 of the famous 747s during its history, SAA has leased, sold, stored, or written off its entire fleet. Simple Flying has taken a look at what happened to South African Airways' Boeing 747 aircraft.

South African Airways enjoyed a rich history of flying the Boeing 747 aircraft. Photo: Dean Morley via Flickr

SAA's 747 fleet

South African Airways received the first of its Boeing 747s in October of 1971. The 747B was registered as ZS-SAN, and dubbed the Lebombo, and signaled the intent of the carrier to expand its routes and services. In 1976 SAA took on a further five 747-SP44 aircraft to this effect, with one of these setting a record for the longest non-stop commercial flight when it flew from Seattle to Cape Town in 17 hours and 22 minutes.

747-SP44

Over the following decades the airline continued to grow its 747 fleet, adding a further 11 aircraft before its first retirements. Two 747-SP44 aircraft were moved on to Luxair in 1980, ZS-SPA and ZS-SPF. SAA operated a total of 19 Boeing 747-SP44 aircraft between 1976 and the early 2000s. In total, 15 SP44 aircraft were moved on to other airlines around the world, ranging from Air Namibia tot Luxair. ZS-SPF made a return to SAA, but was written off after a crash over Mozambique in 1998.

747-200

SAA acquired ten Boeing 747-200 aircraft between 1971 and 1998. The first of these being the Lebombo. These aircraft have been scrapped or preserved, with one of the aircraft - ZS-SAS- written off after an in-flight fire caused a crash over the Indian Ocean in 1987. The last of the 200s were retired in 2004 with ZS-SAM scrapped in Johannesburg.

SAA received its first 747-200 aircraft in 1971, with ZS-SAM. photo: GB_NZ via Flickr

747-300

South African Airways have operated six 747-300 aircraft through its history. The first of these was received in 1983 with ZS-SAT. The 747-300 saw its last retirement with SAA in 2004, with three of its fleet moved on the new airlines, and another three stored or scrapped.

747-400

The Boeing 747-400 series of aircraft served with SAA for over 20 years. It took first delivery of the aircraft type in 1991 with ZS-SAV, a 747-444BCF aircraft. It took delivery of a further 7 747-400 planes up until 1998. In 2012, ZS-SAZ moved on to Transaero Airlines, signaling the end of SAAs Boeing 747 operational fleet.

SAA took delivery of eight 747-400 aircraft, with all of these finding new homes with other airlines. Photo: Bob Adams via Flickr

Moved on, scrapped, stored and written off

The South African Airways fleet of Boeing 747s are no longer in service for the embattled airline. Over the years this legendary aircraft served SAA with distinction, with 43 deliveries taken over a period of three decades. The final destination of the aircraft can be summarised as:

  • 11 in storage or scrapped.
  • 2 written off
  • 30 moved on to other airlines

This iconic aircraft played a pivotal role in the success that SAA achieved in the past. It is a throwback to a time where financial disfunction did not provide all the headlines for the airline.