National carrier South African Airways (SAA) does not expect to reach break-even point for another five years. “We remain committed to ensuring that the airline becomes financially self-reliant and the arrival of these aircraft mark a stepping stone in our move in that direction,” assured SAA acting CEO Musa Zwane. “Our projections indicate that we will break even by year 2021 before we start becoming profitable again.”

Zwane issued his statement on Friday, to mark the arrival of SAA’s first new Airbus A330-300 wide-body airliner, at the company’s base at OR Tambo International Airport, in Kempton Park, east of Johannesburg, on Friday. The airline has ordered five of these airliners, to increase efficiency and widen its route network.

“A new aircraft arrival in our fleet is a special occasion and does not happen often,” he pointed out. “Customers will be pleased with the latest-generation on-board amenities and other cabin features on the A330-300s. They certainly offer customers an improved travel experience.”

“Beyond product refresh which our customers will surely enjoy, this is an important milestone for us in the context of the implementation of our Long-Term Turnaround Strategy [which] we unveiled three years ago,” Zwane added. “The new aircraft will bring much needed efficiencies and this is expected to impact positively on the company’s bottom line.”

The other four A330-300s for SAA will be delivered later this month and early next year. They are latest model A330-300s, with a maximum take-off weight of 242 t and a longer range of 6 350 nautical miles (11 750 km), allowing flights of up to 11 hours. The new aircraft will allow the airline to enlarge its route network both within and without Africa.

The new airliners are configured for 249 passengers. These are divided into 46 premium business class and 203 economy class. The aircraft have more business class seats than any other type in the SAA fleet.