South African Airways (SA) airline code, fares and API for travel agents
- IATA SA
- ICAO SAA
- Star Alliance
- Full-service
Search South African Airways (SA) fares
South African Airways airline codes
- IATA code
- SA
- ICAO code
- SAA
- Main hub
- Johannesburg (JNB)
- Alliance
- Star Alliance
- Airline type
- Full-service
- Country
- South Africa
About South African Airways
South African Airways is the national airline of South Africa, based at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, and a Star Alliance member. The airline went through a long restructuring and came back with a much smaller network than it once had. Today it focuses on the main domestic trunk routes, such as Johannesburg to Cape Town and Durban, on regional flights to cities elsewhere in Africa, and on a small number of intercontinental routes. It sells business class and economy. For many long-haul trips, agents combine SAA's African flights with services from its Star Alliance partners.
To see whether SAA serves a route, the quickest check is a live search on IATA.co, either in the booking portal or through the flights API. South African Airways fares appear in your search results whenever our flight suppliers offer them for your route and dates. Tickets are paid from your prepaid balance, and the baggage, change and refund terms for each fare are displayed before you confirm.
South African Airways airline codes explained
South African Airways uses the two-letter IATA airline code SA and the three-letter ICAO code SAA. The IATA code SA is the one shown on tickets, fare displays and booking screens, while the ICAO code SAA is used in air traffic control and flight planning.
South African Airways is a full-service carrier, based in South Africa, operating mainly from Johannesburg (JNB). It is a member of Star Alliance.
Booking South African Airways fares as a travel agent
Travel agents book South African Airways fares on IATA.co without their own IATA accreditation. Activate an agency account, top up a prepaid balance, then search live SA fares in the booking portal: the price, baggage and fare rules are shown with each offer before you confirm, and the amount is deducted from your balance. South African Airways results appear whenever our flight suppliers return them for your route and dates, so what you can book follows live supplier content rather than a direct airline deal.
Search South African Airways (SA) through the flights API
Developers and agencies can run the same South African Airways search from their own site, app or back office through the IATA.co flights API. Filter a search by the carrier code SA and read the fares back as JSON, then book from the same prepaid balance. See the flights API and the API docs for the full reference.
GET /api/v1/flights/search?origin=JNB&destination=DXB&date=2026-12-14&carrier=SA
Host: iata.co
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
{
"carrier": "SA",
"flights": [
{ "airline": "SA", "from": "JNB", "to": "DXB", "price": 148.20 }
]
}Example request and response. Carrier codes filter the search; the full reference is unlocked with your API key.
South African Airways at a glance
- National airline of South Africa, based in Johannesburg
- Member of Star Alliance
- Network is smaller than before its restructuring
- Domestic, regional African and a few intercontinental routes
South African Airways (SA) questions
South African Airways' two-letter IATA airline code is SA, and its three-letter ICAO code is SAA. The IATA code is the one you see on tickets, timetables and booking screens.
South African Airways' ICAO code is SAA. ICAO codes are three letters and are used in air traffic control and flight planning, while the two-letter IATA code SA is used in ticketing and reservations.
Yes. On IATA.co you book South African Airways fares through the platform from a prepaid balance, so you do not need your own IATA accreditation. South African Airways fares appear in your results whenever our flight suppliers offer them for your route and dates.
It depends on what our flight suppliers return. Whenever South African Airways content — including NDC fares — is offered by a connected supplier for your route and dates, it appears in your SA search results and can be booked from your balance or through the flights API.
Yes. SAA operates domestic, regional and a limited number of intercontinental routes from Johannesburg, with a smaller network than it had before its restructuring.
South African Airways fares appear in your search results whenever our flight suppliers offer them for your route and dates. Bookings are paid from your prepaid balance.
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