South African Airways (SAA) has put some of its aircraft up for sale to accommodate the new Airbus A350-900s the airline recently added to its fleet.

In a tender on the airline’s website, SAA said it was selling 9 wide-body aircraft - 5 Airbus A340-300s and 4 Airbus A340-600s as well as 15 spare engines and four Auxiliary Power Units.

According to the airline, the decision to sell the aircraft has nothing to do with the business rescue process. The closing date for the tender is 30 January at 11.00 am SA time.

The new Airbus-A350s will start operating on its international route network this week, replacing the Airbus A340s.

The aircraft on sale used to operate on regional and international routes, which will now be flown by the A330s and A350-900s.