Who owns South African Airways?
South African Airways is owned by South African Airways SOC Limited (South Africa).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: South African Airways Group Integrated Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025, South African Airways SOC Limited, 31 March 2025. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- South African Airways SOC Limited reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- Origin
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- Founded
- 1934
- Category
- Travel & transport › Airlines
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About South African Airways
South African Airways is the national flag carrier of South Africa, a full-service network carrier that carries passengers, freight and mail on domestic, regional and intercontinental routes with an operational focus on the African continent. Its 2025 integrated report says it was founded in 1934, joined Star Alliance in 2006, and operated 17 aircraft with over 18,000 flights a year. Its cargo arm is SAA Cargo and its loyalty programme is Voyager.
Ownership timeline of South African Airways
- Current owner South African Airways [1] reported
Where South African Airways sits in South African Airways
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full South African Airways ownership tree →
Other brands in airlines, and who owns them
The 509 brands in airlines on Brandtree belong to 341 owners. The largest is Lufthansa Group, with 10.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Air Dolomiti | Lufthansa Group | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| China Southern Airlines | China Southern Airlines | 🇨🇳 China |
| Air China | Air China | 🇨🇳 China |
| Aer Lingus | IAG | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| LATAM Airlines Brasil | LATAM | 🇨🇱 Chile |
| Air France | Air France-KLM | 🇫🇷 France |
| AirAsia | AirAsia X | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| Calm Air | Exchange Income | 🇨🇦 Canada |
About the owner: South African Airways
South African Airways is a state-owned company headquartered in South Africa, founded in 1934. Brandtree records 1 brand under its control.
South Africa's state-owned flag carrier. Its Integrated Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 says the SAA group is a 100% state-owned company and the official flag carrier for South Africa, founded in 1934, and a member of Star Alliance since 2006. Its subsidiaries are SAA Technical (aircraft maintenance) and Air Chefs (airline catering), both wholly owned and not airlines, plus Mango Airlines, which the report shows as a wholly owned subsidiary in business rescue; Mango has ceased operations and is not listed as a brand here.
South African Airways: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇿🇦 South African Airways and other South African brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 175 brands that began in South Africa. 12 of them (7%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; South African Airways is not one of them.
- Airlink — Airlink 🇿🇦
- Bidvest Freight — Bidvest 🇿🇦
- FlySafair — Safair 🇿🇦
- Grindrod Terminals — Grindrod 🇿🇦
- LIFT — LIFT 🇿🇦
- Santova Logistics — Santova 🇿🇦
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of South African Airways?
The parent company of South African Airways is South African Airways SOC Limited, a state-owned company headquartered in South Africa.
Is South African Airways South African?
Yes. South African Airways originated in South Africa in 1934 and its owner, South African Airways SOC Limited, is also headquartered in South Africa.
Is South African Airways still owned by South African Airways SOC Limited?
Yes. As of 4 October 2026, South African Airways is still owned by South African Airways SOC Limited. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] South African Airways Group Integrated Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 — South African Airways SOC Limited, Annual report, published 31 March 2025; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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