South African Airways has announced that beginning July 2005, it will launch new direct service between Washington Dulles and Johannesburg in South Africa.

This new route features four flights a week from the Washington Dulles gateway, adding to South African Airways’ current daily flights from New York’s JFK and Atlanta. The new weekly service will operate from Washington Dulles on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with return service from Johannesburg on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The flights between Washington Dulles and Johannesburg will also include a brief operational fuel stop in Accra, Ghana.

The new route will feature the return of the Boeing 747-400 to South African Airways’ US service, as well as a return of three-class service including a lie-flat seat in Business and First Class. The airline’s new Airbus A340-300 and A340-600 are currently serving New York and Atlanta.

New Award Availability: Now’s your chance to snag the otherwise hard-to-get mileage award ticket. With the new service will come a few seats available to Delta SkyMiles members — and AMEX Membership Rewards members who can transfer points to Delta.