EDITORIAL: Mango not a lemon
Consortium ready to put airline back in the skies
Contrary to expectations, Mango, the low-cost airline started by SAA and now in business rescue, may indeed have a future.
In an update, Mango business rescue practitioner Sipho Sono revealed that a consortium has surfaced which is not only keen to buy Mango, but seems to have the money to do it.
The consortium has already provided proof of funding, and a share subscription deal was struck on July 28. After it provides a bank guarantee (due by August 10), the government can rubber-stamp the deal.
Sono isn’t saying who the buyer is, but it will need to be a local investor, possibly with a foreign partner.
In the background, much fuss was made of the Air Services Licensing Council suspending Mango’s licence. But this is neither here nor there as the consortium would have to submit a new licence application (though with fewer hoops to jump through than if it were an entirely new airline).
If it gets the green light, it’ll not only be good news for passengers battling sky-high prices, it’ll be a vote of confidence for the besieged airline sector.