SA Airways in a nosedive
SIKONATHI MANTSHANTSHA: SAA bailout — why bother?
A bailout for SAA will be money down the drain — much like the cumulative R51bn the airline has guzzled over the past 20 years
SA Airways (SAA) is in complete meltdown. Hardly flying, it is hanging by a thread. I got an opportunity to experience this as a customer last week, when I visited SA’s five major cities in as many days. To revive the airline will take more than just cash. A complete reconfiguration of the structure and the key people behind it — shareholders and top management — is required for the airline to survive and deliver value for its stakeholders. Finance minister Malusi Gigaba has promised to dish out a total cash bailout of R13bn to the airline by March. But that will be money flushed down the drain — much like the cumulative R51bn SAA has already guzzled in cash bailouts over the past 20 years. Of the five flights I had to take in travelling between Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, three were on SAA and its subsidiary, Mango. At the outset, the Mango flight out of OR Tambo International on Monday was delayed by 40 minutes. Three staffers happily chatted away...
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