Union Airways
Major Allister Miller founded Union Airways in Port Elizabeth in 1929 after being awarded a government contract to fly airmail between Cape Town and the major centres in South Africa. The company was registered on 24th July 1929 and began airmail operations on 26th August 1929 with five de Havilland DH 60 Gipsy Moth bi-planes. Mail was collected from the Union Castle steamships from Britain that docked at Cape Town harbour on Monday mornings and flown to Port Elizabeth by a single Gypsy Moth. At Port Elizabeth two more Gipsy Moths were waiting to continue the service, one to fly mail to Bloemfontein and Johannesburg and the other to East London and Durban. On Thursday the 29 August the return service was operated reaching Cape Town in time for the departing United Kingdom bound steamship.
Formation of South African Airways
On the 1st February 1934 the South African Government took over the assets and liabilities of Union Airways. This included 40 staff members and four Junkers F13s, one DH60 Gypsy Moth, one DH80A Puss Moth and a leased and Junkers A50. The airline was named South African Airways ( SAA) and fell under the control of the South African Railways and Harbours administration.
On 1 February the following year, the carrier acquired South West African Airways,which had been been providing a weekly air-mail service between Windhoek and Kimberley since 1932. On 1st July 1935, SAA moved its operations to Rand Airport as it became increasingly obvious that Johannesburg would become the country’s aviation hub, which coincided with the launching of Rand–Durban–East London–Port Elizabeth–Cape Town services. By the end of the decade SAA was operating 18 Junker JU86Z and 11 Junkers JU52.
Up until the start of World War II, SAA carried 118,822 passengers, 3,278 tonnes of airmail and 248 tonnes of cargo, which were served by 418 employees. On 24th May 1940, all operations were suspended in order to provide credible maritime patrol operations as part of the war effort, the SA Air Force took over all 29 of South African Airways’ passenger aircraft: eighteen Junkers JU-86Z-l’s to be used in the maritime patrol role and eleven Junkers Ju 52’s for transport purposes.[citation needed]
Following the war, frequencies were increased and more routes were opened, which necessitated the conversion of three South African Air Force Envoys to passenger layout. These aircraft would prove to be unsuitable for passenger and cargo services, so were returned to the SAAF after the arrival of the Junkers Ju 86s.
Post War Year – Time for Growth
Follwoing the war , the airline introduce new aircraft to the fleet in the shape of the Avro York leased from BOAC. On 10 November 1945, SAA introduced its first inter-continental service, a 3-day Springbok Service, operated by the Avro York, which was routed Palmietfontein–Nairobi–Khartoum–Cairo–Castel Benito–Hurn Bournemouth. A weekly service was initially flown, but this later increased to 6 times weekly due to high passenger demand. The airline ordered the Douglas DC-4 Skymaster, which debuted in May 1946 between Johannesburg and Cape Town, which coincided with the introduction of the Douglas DC-3 Dakota on the Johannesburg–Durban route.
From 1946, a sharp increase in passengers and cargo carried were experienced, along with the size of SAA’s fleet. Air hostesses were introduced in September 1946, at first on domestic routes, then on Springbok Services to the UK.
In 1948 SAA moved its operations from Rand Airport, now deemed too small, toPalmietfontein Airport, to a former airforce base a few miles east of Rand Airport. This was among a host of changes made by the airline regarding its operations and services during the year; the other notable improvement was the showing of films onboard its Skymaster aircraft in June.
SAA received four Lockheed Constellations in August 1950. These were the airline’s first pressurised aircraft and were quickly introduced on the scheduled service to London’s Heathrow airport. Initially the route from Johannesburg was flown via Nairobi, Khartoum and Rome. The Constellation’s higher speed and longer range enabled fewer stops and greatly reduced the flying time to London
South African Airways - A Complete History 