South African Airways
South African Airways Airbus A330-300 seat map (two class)
Business Class and Economy on the Airbus A330-300
A330-300business class and economy244 seats
Read off the airline’s own material, but some detail — often the row numbering — is our own careful work rather than theirs. Treat row-level detail as indicative and check at booking.
South African Airways publishes 249 seats for this aircraft; this map draws 244. South African states 249 seats: 46 Business and 203 Economy. Neither divides into whole rows. The eight-row forward Business cabin at four abreast would be 32 seats against a sourced 30, so one row of it is short and no source says which, leaving two seats unplaced; the four-row rear mini-cabin is drawn in full. Economy's 203 seats leave three over a whole number of eight-abreast rows, with no anchor row to place them against. All five are left off rather than drawn where nothing sources them.
What we could not settle on this aircraft
South African Airways publishes no seat map for this aircraft. Its own page gives Economy as 203 seats, and reviews of the actual London–Johannesburg flight agree on 46 Business seats — 249 in all. Neither number divides into whole rows: 46 Business seats across the twelve rows reviewers describe would be 48 if every row were full, so one row near a door is short by two, and 203 Economy seats do not fill whole rows of eight either. Nobody says which rows are affected, so 244 seats are drawn here and five are not. One thing that looks like an omission is not: there is deliberately no divider drawn between the rear Business cabin and the first Economy row, because a reviewer says there isn't one on the aircraft. - https://www.aviateworld.com/aviate-flights/airline-partners/south-african-airways/ - https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/161524-south-african-airways-added-leases-delayed-to-2026 - https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airlines-lessors/saa-accelerates-airline-partnerships-fleet-grow-2026
Worked out from sourced data rather than read directly off a published map.
About this cabin
South African Airways' A330-300 in this configuration seats 244 (J/J/Y). The seat totals here are confirmed from published airline data; some row-by-row detail is our own careful estimate where the airline doesn't publish it. South African Airways flies only this one cabin layout on the A330-300 — no version lottery on this type.
Quick pick, by traveller
| If you're… | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Travelling solo | 3A | A window seat rated highly with nothing working against it — lean on the wall, control the shade, nobody climbing over you. |
| Travelling as a couple | 3B | This row's layout puts a genuine two-seat pair here — no middle seat exists in this group, so it's just the two of you. |
| Trying to sleep | 3A | A window seat away from galley and lavatory traffic, so aisle lights and trolley passes are less likely to wake you. |
Seat map
Business Class
Business Class spans rows 1–11 in a 1-2-1 layout, 45in pitch and 24in seat width. Worth avoiding: 8B, 8C, 8A, 8D — next to galley.
Economy Class
Economy Class spans rows 12–36 in a 2-4-2 layout. Worth avoiding: 35B, 35C, 35F, 35G — seat doesn't recline.
Cabin specs
| Cabin | Pitch | Width | Recline | Power | IFE | Wifi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Class | 45" | 24" | Lie-flat | — | AVOD | — |
| Economy Class | — | — | — | — | AVOD | — |
Seats to avoid
| Seat | Cabin | Why to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| 8B | Business Class | A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. |
| 8C | Business Class | A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. |
| 8A | Business Class | A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. |
| 8D | Business Class | A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. |
| 35B | Economy Class | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
| 35C | Economy Class | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
| 35F | Economy Class | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
| 35G | Economy Class | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
Known quirks on this aircraft
- Seat doesn't recline (16 seats: 35A, 35B, 35C, and 13 more) — This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight.
- Often cold or draughty (10 seats: 1A, 1D, 2A, and 7 more) — Seats next to a bulkhead or door on a long-haul widebody are usually the coldest in the cabin — bring a layer for this one.
- High foot traffic (18 seats: 1B, 1C, 2B, and 15 more) — This aisle seat sits right next to a lavatory, galley or exit, so expect a steady stream of people brushing past, especially early and late in the flight.
- No underseat storage (16 seats: 1A, 1B, 1C, and 13 more) — Bulkhead and exit-row seats have nothing in front of the seat to store a bag under, so your bag must go in the overhead bin for the whole flight.
Frequently asked
- How many seats does South African Airways' A330-300 have in this configuration?
- 244 seats in total, arranged as J/J/Y. This is one specific configuration — South African Airways' fleet may include other configurations of the same aircraft type, covered below.
- Is this the only cabin layout South African Airways flies on the A330-300?
- Yes, as far as we can determine — South African Airways flies only this one cabin layout on the A330-300. There's no "version lottery" to worry about on this specific type for this airline.
- Which seats should I avoid?
- Seat 8B in Business Class is worth avoiding: A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. The full seat map marks every seat we'd steer you away from, with the specific reason for each.
- How confident are you in this seat map?
- This configuration is marked "derived" — the overall configuration confirmed, with some row-level detail worked out from seat counts and layout. See the sources and last-verified date lower on this page.
- Has a real person checked these individual seat scores?
- Not yet for this specific configuration. The scores above come from our rules engine, which reasons from real aircraft geometry, but they aren't marked as human-verified until someone has actually reviewed the unusual ones — see the verification section below for the current status.
Related
Other airlines flying the A330-300
- Air Canada A330-300 — Signature Class, Premium Economy and Economy, 297-seat cabinJ/W/W/Y/Y/Y/Y
- Malaysia Airlines A330-300 — Business and EconomyJ/Y
- Cathay Pacific A330-300 — Business and Economy, 317 seatsJ/J/Y/Y/Y/Y/Y/Y
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines A330-300 — World Business Class and Economy, two-classJ/Y/Y
- Air Canada A330-300 — Premium Economy and Economy, 285-seat cabinW/Y/Y/Y
- Finnair A330-300 — Finnair AirLounge Business, Premium Economy and Economy, A330-300J/J/W/Y/Y/Y/Y/Y/Y
- Qatar Airways A330-300 — Business Class and Economy Class, 289-seat cabinJ/J/Y/Y/Y/Y
- Qatar Airways A330-300 — Business Class and Economy Class, 305-seat cabinJ/Y/Y/Y/Y/Y
Other aircraft South African Airways flies
Data sources & verification
- Configuration last verified
- , against South African Airways' own published seat map and fleet data below.
- Seat-by-seat scores
- Generated from the configuration data below by our rules engine. Awaiting human review before individual scores are published as verified.
- Fleet status
- Fitted fleet-wide — 100% of aircraft on this type carry this cabin.
- Seat lettering
- We haven't confirmed this cabin's exact seat letters against South African Airways' own diagram yet. The seat count and layout are sourced; on a wide-body in particular, individual seat letters (e.g. whether a row has a seat G) may be off by one position until we do. We're working through these one airline at a time and will remove this note once it's checked.
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Seat reviews
No reviews yet for this cabin — be the first to share how a seat actually flew.