The jury was still out on whether South African Airways (SAA) would be able to attract a strategic equity partner, Parliament was told on Tuesday. Briefing members of the standing committee on appropriations about SAA’s recapitalisation programme, new CEO Vuyani Jarana said it was hard to sell part of a business "when it’s on its knees". Jarana told MPs SAA would review the viability of its office and call centre in Miami, US. SAA has a high operating cost structure, which is seen as one of the main reasons for its financial mess. "I don’t see how you can run a call centre in the US. Call centres are … moving to Africa … we are busy engaging. However, commercially it doesn’t make sense [for SAA to run an office in Miami]," said Jarana. Finding an equity partner would be crucial for returning the airline to profitability. Earlier in November, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said SAA was still searching for a partner. Discussions were at an early stage, he said, and the government, SAA...
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