SAA bail-out raises risk of another downgrade
Last week's R2.2bn bail-out of the airline - paid to Standard Chartered to avert a call on the rest of SAA's guaranteed loans - has raised eyebrows
In a case of déjà vu, the National Treasury saved the day for SAA last week after the airline commissioned yet another report from aviation experts recommending it should urgently slash costs. SAA retained Seabury Consulting - a division of Accenture that advises the aviation industry - in January to advise on restructuring the airline, bringing the consultants back for the second time since 2007, when they were appointed to help SAA reduce head office and fleet costs. SAA apparently did not act on Seabury's first report, as the airline later sought a R4.72-billion guarantee in September 2016, which was granted on condition that it urgently implement "more aggressive cost-cutting initiatives ", according to a written reply to parliamentary questions by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba on June 14. SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said the airline's board had "substantially" implemented Seabury's latest recommendations. "The recommendations they made formed the basis of the five-year corporate...
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