South African Airways (SAA) has become a black hole that is consuming the country’s resources and it would be irresponsible to pour any more good money into the failing airline. SAA has had more than enough time to turn its fortunes around and the chances of doing so now must be close to zero. SAA’s main competitor, Comair, is doing well and making a profit in the same market. This tells us that SAA is badly managed and unable to compete, despite the resources that have been poured into it. SAA needs drastic surgery, not bail-outs. The new danger is that SAA will start losing customers because people do not like losers, as that would further reduce its chances of any kind of recovery. To sell a good asset such as Telkom shares to prop up a bankrupt airline with a bleak future does not make sense. The only thing that we can learn from this sorry story is that the government does not understand business and, for the sake of the country, it should get out of the commercial space. It si...
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