South African Airways warns the public of fraudulent sites that give misleading information about SAA’s Cadet Pilot Development Programme and cabin crew recruitment process. We provide information on what people should be aware of.  

Johannesburg, South Africa – South African Airways (SAA) would like to advise the South African public that it has taken note of unofficial websites that purport to be SAA official websites. Those websites contain false and/or misleading information about SAA’s Cadet Pilot Development Programme and cabin crew recruitment process. 

SAA would like to clarify that it does not have any relationship whatsoever with those false channels (websites), nor the individuals behind them. Members of the public are advised to take caution and are encouraged to contact SAA telephonically in case they need to verify the official SAA electronic platforms that they should use.

A quick way of identifying these bogus sites is by looking out for a fee that is required to be paid to “secure an application, or to ensure that an applicant gets shortlisted’’. SAA never charges any fee during recruitment drives.  

Cadet Pilot applications

On 14 September 2014, SAA invited young South Africans who aspire to become pilots to send their applications for the 2014/2015 intake of SAA’s Cadet Pilot Programme. The advert was placed in some of the national weekend newspapers. In addition, the following official SAA electronic communication channels carried the advert: SAA website (flysaa.com), SAA’s Facebook page (FlySAA) and SAA’s Twitter account (@flysaa). The closing date for the submission of applications was 27 September 2014.

Due to the high demand, SAA decided to extend the closing date to 3 October 2014. That date has since passed and no further extensions have been granted.   

Unofficial websites

SAA views the fraudulent use of its corporate identity in a serious light. It is not only potentially harmful to the brand but poses a risk of exposing unsuspecting members of the public to the risk of having their personal information getting into the wrong hands.   Should the airline obtain reliable information about any persons behind this scam, SAA will not hesitate to take legal action.  

About SAA

South African Airways is a Star Alliance member that offers flights to 38 destinations worldwide. Domestically, SAA operates 544 flights a week between Johannesburg – Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth. Regionally SAA offers 24 destinations across the African continent and its international network creates links to all major continents from South Africa through 10 direct routes. In the regional category, SAA has received the Skytrax ‘Best Airline in Africa’ Award for 11 consecutive years.