South Africa's Move Into The 21St Century With The Airbus A350 XWB

There was a time when air travel over Africa was an odyssey about flying “low and slow” over unchartered terrain and stopping en-route for refreshments and rest. Intercontinental flights were responsible for expanding links between South Africa and England.

- Robin Rabec

The spirit of aviation travel meant braving waves of nausea and inhaling fumes of aviation fuel wafting into hot non-pressurised cabins vibrating to the sound of four radial engines mounted onto the large overhead wings of Sunderland Flying Boats.

Those were the adventurous years for explorers and pioneers of aviation who might never have dreamed that the future of aviation would evolve to what has become the norm for long distance travel by air.

Such was the need for improved international air travel, it is hard to imagine how opportune it was that jet powered aircraft became the norm for rapid travel.

When the first jet aircraft began plying the skies in the early sixties, among the first routes operated by then BOAC was London – Johannesburg.

The De Havilland Comet jet airliners transformed the 6000nm distance between London and Johannesburg into a previously unimaginable journey taken in under 12 hours. The glamour and benefit of jet travel was enhanced by the accessibility of flights connecting Europe with North America. The American development of aviation unfolded with the growth of the Boeing organisation creating the B707 and B747 Jumbo Jet airliners. During those early years, fuel prices seemed reasonable, safety in the skies meant most medium to long haul aircraft were designed around the safety quad engine airplanes.

The reaction to fast and efficient air services resulted in fierce competition to create aircraft that were competitive affording critical seat/mile economy combined with speed and comfort.

Entering into the world of a more competitive aviation specter was the emergence of the Airbus conglomerate of European aircraft manufacturers competing against the North American civilian aircraft manufacturers.