South African Airways (SAA) has announced it has added substantial capacity to the growing Johannesburg to Nairobi route with new wide-body aircraft commencing service from March 1.

According to SAA’s Head of Australasia Thevan Krishna, increased business and recreational tourist traffic between South Africa and Kenya was a compelling reason to add new capacity with larger aircraft to meet demand.

“Kenya is a key destination for us in East Africa and as a result we are adding another 582 new seats per week, effective immediately,” Thevan said.

“We previously operated on the route with Airbus A319 and Boeing 737-800 aircraft but have now replaced them with Airbus A340-200 and A340-300 jets,” Thevan said.

“The introduction of these newer wide-body aircraft will mean additional seat capacity, lie-flat seats in business class as well as a wider, more comfortable cabin,” he said.

“This is the first of a number of route and capacity enhancements being made by SAA this year. With increased interest from Australians in visiting the African continent, particularly to countries such as Kenya, we believe our customers will welcome these improved facilities.”