SAA replacement airline a ‘flight of fancy’

Have plans of a new airline to replace the bankrupt South African Airways (SAA) crashed before takeoff? Some experts believe so, summing up the idea as a “pipe dream” to appease unions and kick the can down the road on the debacle.

Recent reports say government is mulling over the idea of starting a new airline to replace the national carrier, which is broke and has relied on state bailouts for years.

But Guy Leitch, editor of SA Flyer Magazine, said the lack of detailed plans made it impossible to assess its feasibility, but a new airline out of the SAA ashes appeared impractical.

He said the plans not only made no sense but the timing for a start-up was devastating, with big international airlines struggling due to the Covid-19 crisis.

“There are huge problems with starting up an airline. To get an aircraft operating certificate can take up to 18 months,” Leitch said.

He said a committee would still have to assess the application before sending it through to aviation authorities for consideration.

Leitch said there was also the problem of the SAA brand and goodwill, which could be a big problem for potential investors.

He said the viable option was to “divide the entity into two, keep the bad accountable to parliament and form a new airline based on pure business principles”.

The airline, which has cost Treasury more than R20 billion in bailouts over the past three years, could start shedding its more than 4,000 staff from as early as next week.

This if unions and workers do not accept a proposed severance deal, administrators trying to rescue the airline said on Sunday.

Employees were reportedly officially informed on Sunday that they have been offered a seemingly final chance to sign a proposed termination of employment agreement.

SAA, which last made a profit in 2011, filed for bankruptcy in December in a last-ditch effort to either save or liquidate the national carrier.

Phuthego Mojapele, an independent aviation expert, said SAA had been dead for years and what remained now was a carcass.

“It died long ago … and I do not see any new airline born out of this carcass,” he said.

Mojapele said the proposed airline was playing with people’s emotions, giving workers hope where there was none, and also a cheap way out for government.

“What needs to happen is looking at empowering low-cost airlines like Kulula and Mango, scale down, cut international routes and focus on regional and local flights.

“From there you can assess the situation moving forward,” he said.

Mojapele said unions were also to blame for the state of affairs at SAA, saying they kept quiet when unqualified people were appointed to key positions and only made a noise when they wanted salary increases.

– siphom@citizen.co.za

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