FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) December 17, 2008 -- South African Airways has announced that it will operate new non-stop service from New York JFK to Johannesburg beginning May 1, 2009. Flight SA204, which will now depart at 11:35AM and arrive in Johannesburg at 8:45AM the following day, opens up a host of online connections, taking more travelers to more of Africa through SAA’s Johannesburg hub.

The same-day connections feature flights to Botswana, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. As an African airline with global reach, SAA’s unmatched African network will now make it possible to leave New York in the morning and connect throughout South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa as well as Africa’s Indian Ocean islands, all with seamless connections. Within South Africa, SAA offers frequent service to cities such as Cape Town and Durban, and the new flight schedule will allow travelers to arrive at these popular cities mid-day. Coupled with SAA’s commitment to excellence and its award-winning service, there is no better choice for service from the U.S. to Africa.

“Adjusting the New York flight to an earlier departure and operating it as a non-stop to Johannesburg means that business travelers and leisure travelers alike can start their business meetings or embark on their safaris even earlier, rather than having to spend the night in Johannesburg in order to catch a next-morning connection,” said Marc Cavaliere, executive vice president, North America for South African Airways. “We are especially proud that our new non-stop flights are the fastest way to fly to South Africa and the earliest arrivals to South Africa and southern Africa. In addition, when you realize that passengers now have the ability to depart during the day from JFK, or during the evening from Washington, D.C., SAA is without question the airline that offers the most flexibility and the best connections to the most points throughout Africa.”