South African Airways wins Africa Best Airline Award

South African Airways (SAA) has won the best airline in Africa for 2016 for the 14th consecutive time. While the airline also won other awards, the most prominent was the 2016 Skytrax award for Best Airline in Africa which it has now won for a record 14 times at a ceremony on Wednesday, July 20, at the Farnborough Airshow in London.

A spokesperson of SAA, Mohammed Abdullahi, said in a statement that the Skytrax awards, the innovation of an independent aviation research organisation, have become an institution on the annual events calendar and that the awards are based on unsolicited customer feedback which makes them the benchmark of airline excellence.

He quoted the SAA acting Chief Executive, Musa Zwane, as saying, "We are rightfully excited and proud to have won the Skytrax Award as Best Airline in Africa, for the fourteenth consecutive year, which demonstrates that SAA is still one of the foremost airlines in the world, and the leader on the continent. Awards are important as they instil a sense of pride from our employees and customers alike.

In a related development, Boeing, South African Airways (SAA) and low-cost carrier Mango celebrated Africa's first passenger flights with sustainable aviation biofuel. The flights coincided with Boeing's 100th anniversary and centennial celebrations worldwide.

The SAA and Mango flights carried 300 passengers from Johannesburg to Cape Town on Boeing 737-800s using a blend of 30 per cent aviation biofuel produced from Sunchem's nicotine-free tobacco plant, Solaris, refined by AltAir Fuels and supplied by SkyNRG.

"SAA is committed to a sustainable future and this flight highlights the bold steps we are taking to protect and preserve our environment while creating opportunities for the economic development of our people," the acting CEO said. "We are pleased to join the ranks of global airlines who have made a commitment to a better and cleaner way of flying."

He added, "It is fitting that on our 100 year anniversary, we are flying on fuels that not only power the flight, but ensure a sustainable future for our industry," said Miguel Santos, managing director for Africa, Boeing International. "This project is a great example of environmental stewardship that delivers economic and health benefits to South Africa."