South African Airways

SAA is unfortunately unable to provide our musicians with a special free baggage allowance for the carriage of musical instruments. Musical instruments must be handled as normal checked-in or hand baggage or be transported on a paid-for seat in the passenger cabin.

If you check-in your instrument, it will be subject to normal excess baggage charges if it exceeds your free baggage allowance.

Please note that certain conditions and limitations may apply when transporting musical instruments. To review these conditions, or if you have any questions regarding our musical instrument transportation, please get in touch with us.

Travelling with musical instruments as hand baggage

• The total dimension of the instrument or its carrying case must not exceed 115cms (calculated as length + width + height). If the instrument or case has an irregular shape, the largest dimension must be taken to arrive at the overall total.
• The shape and size should fit under the seat in front of you or in the overhead compartment. The total weight must not exceed 8kg.
• Instruments that conform to the size and weight limits are considered 1 item of hand baggage. Customers in Business Class may carry 1 more item of hand baggage and those in Economy Class will not be allowed any other hand baggage.
• It is highly recommended that the instrument be carried or packed in a custom-built case to protect it. If it is not in a carrying case, the instrument must not have any sharp corners that might damage other hand baggages.

Travelling with musical instruments as an extra seat(s) in the cabin

• To transport your musical instrument on a seat your booking must be made via the SAA Call Centre and they must be notified that you intend to carry a musical instrument on an extra seat.
• Information regarding size and weight of your instrument must be provided and the extra seat must be booked and paid for. The seat will be charged at a discounted rate (base fare, excluding taxes). It is not acceptable for the instrument to occupy an empty seat, which has not been paid for.
• No more than 75kg per seat may be carried under this arrangement. Travellers will not receive any additional free checked baggage allowance for the purchase of the extra seat.

We understand that your pets are part of your family so we try to accommodate their needs as best as we can. Pets are not permitted in the cabin, with the exception of service dogs. Depending on the individual circumstances, pets must be carried either as cargo, or as checked baggage in the hold.

If your pet is travelling as checked baggage, the weight of the animal and its container will be charged as excess baggage and will not count towards your free baggage allowance.

Please contact the SAA Call Centre well before your flight to confirm any required procedures (such as permits, microchips, tests, vaccinations) to allow your pet to travel – you must complete these before SAA can make final arrangements for your pet. Note that this process can take a long time, especially in complex cases. Once complete, please allow 1 week to submit your paperwork to SAA ahead of your flight.

For travel within South Africa, pets must be within a secure container of not more than 1x1m in size and not weighing more than 23kg. Your pet’s original vaccination and rabies certificate must be present at the time of pet check-in.

For international travel, please contact SAA Cargo for more information.

1.5 litre bottle of Zam Zam or sea water can travel as part of your free baggage allowance otherwise applicable excess baggage fees will be charged. The bottles must be properly packed in a plastic covering to avoid leakage.

While we go out of our way to encourage your healthy lifestyle and sporting adventures, charges on sports equipment may apply on both international and domestic flights.

Sporting equipment will form part of the free baggage allowance for tickets issued on/after 15 November 2019. If the free baggage allowance is exceeded, the standard additional baggage charges will apply. This means that excess baggage may be charged for your sporting equipment.

Tickets purchased prior to 15 November 2019 will remain unchanged: sports equipment which can travel free of charge is listed below as long as the additional piece of baggage weighs no more than 23kg with a maximum dimension of 158cm unless specified below. Sporting equipment larger than 200 cm, canoes, windsurfers, hang-gliders and kayaks will be accepted strictly as cargo and the relevant Cargo rates will apply.

The sporting equipment allowance is available on all SAA operated flights. It excludes our codeshare partners and the following flight series 1000-2999 and 7000-8999. Excess baggage rates may be charged during special events.

Sports equipment not specified above can be included in the free baggage allowance and any excess weight will be charged accordingly. Wheelchairs are permitted as a free additional piece of baggage, as long as they are used as sports equipment. Do take note that all sporting equipment balls must be deflated.

A handling fee for shooting/hunting (firearms) will be raised for tickets issued as from 15 May 2019.