Backstage pass: South African Airways A340-300 inaugural to Perth

We’re in South Africa to catch a very special flight with South African Airways, the inaugural re-launch of direct flights between Johannesburg and Perth in Western Australia on the rare and beautiful Airbus A340-300. First we’re at the SAA Technical hangar to spend some time with the aircraft and watch as technicians do their pre-flight checks; we join the celebrations at the check-in area; we check out the brand new SAA lounge at OR Tambo, and then we’re in the cockpit for the momentous departure and takeoff; we get a bit of dinner and a rest in the business class cabin; then it’s back in the flight deck for the warm reception and very nice landing the following morning at Perth. This is SAA’s second intercontinental route launch since coming back from its pandemic-era shutdown, so it’s a big day for the airline and for South Africa as a whole as its flag flies once again to Australia.

SA280 (April 28, 2024) inaugural Flightradar24 playback: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/fl...

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SECTIONS:
00:00 Intro
01:07 Meet the A340 / arrival checks
13:06 Check-in celebrations
15:09 New SAA lounge
17:35 Boarding
19:09 Cockpit pre-flight
21:14 Cockpit departure
25:31 Takeoff
28:22 Good evening Maputo
30:49 Dinner & sleep
32:05 Preparation for landing
35:03 Approach and landing

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