The South African government has agreed to finance the restructuring of South African Airways (SAA) as indicated in a copy of a draft plan shown on Monday. The draft plan involves a government agreement to spend R21 billion ($1.2 billion) to restructure SAA. According to the draft plan, a working capital injection is estimated at not less than R2 billion to restart operations once there are relaxed travel restrictions brought up by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, another R2 billion…
In a briefing on Wednesday to the Parliament for the South Africa Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), acting Director-General Kgathatso Tlhakudi presented the department’s budget plan for state-owned South African Airways (SAA) and SA Express airlines. South Africa’s government is being asked to set aside R3.8 billion ($212 million) for…
The global aviation industry remains to be the worst-hit industry with the unprecedented pandemic continuing to bite out the world's biggest economies which the industry plays an integral role. COVID-19 has hit African airlines with the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) calling for collaborative efforts and the stakeholders developing an "all-inclusive…
As part of the bankruptcy protection process initiated at the end of 2019, South African Airways last week announced a series of measures that seek to return profitability to its operations. The process is in the hands of two consultants specialized in these practices, led by Siviwe Dongwana and Les…
South African Airways is putting up some of its widebody Airbus A340-600 aircraft up for sale in order to accommodate some of the newer Airbus A350-900s being added to its fleet. The Johannesburg-based airline has found it necessary to sell its older Airbus aircraft to accommodate the new models with…
In a tender posted on its website, South African Airways is now readying the sale of some of its assets that include five Airbus A340-300s and four Airbus A340-600s along with 15 spare engines and auxiliary power units. According to the company's acting CEO Zuks Ramasia, the sale of these…
Financially riddled South African Airways has announced a restructuring plan that would cut one-fifth of its workforce. Over the past few years, the airline has been reliant on government financial support to continue its operations but has now started working with its labor unions to develop a restructuring plan that…
South African Airways has been going through a long-standing period of loss-making due to a large number of factors including a bureaucratic company structure with allegations of corruption. In 2017 Vuyani Janara was appointed as the CEO, promising to change the way the company operates with a goal of profitability.…
Just over a week after the nation's troubled flag-carrier received yet another government bailout, South Africa's new finance minister, Tito Mboweni, has suggested that the best course of action is to simply shut the airline down as "we are unlikely to sort out the situation." The financial performance of South African…
The South African commercial aviation sector took another hit this week with the announcement Friday that all South African (SA) Express flights were to be grounded immediately due to maintenance concerns. Following the announcement, news agency Fin24 reported that South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) was behind the grounding of…
