100 days in, SAA is still flying high

South African Airways (SAA) is holding steady and set for growth.

So said interim chief executive Thomas Kgokolo, as the flag carrier completed just over 100 days of service since taking to the skies after business rescue.

Last week, it also operated its 1000th flight. It will resume flights to Mauritius in March, and commence three daily frequencies between Johannesburg and Durban.

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SAA turned 88 on 1 February. In a statement, the airline boss said it remained fiscally prudent with a “constant eye on finances” as it gears up to re-establish network alliances with an eye to international travel on partner carriers.

Omicron variant

Kgokolo said the airline was tracking against forecasts positively. That was, until the onset of the omicron variant.

He said: “It negatively impacted our estimates for December overall, our domestic load factor was slightly behind forecast, but this was offset by stronger-than-forecast regional loads.

“Airline margins are always thin, but our revenue per available seat kilometre trended comfortably ahead of the forecast until November, turning negative in December as the network was hit with the dual impact of omicron-induced cancellations and a marked slowdown in higher yield late bookings.”

It was unlikely SAA would resume operating international routes this year.

“It will be driven by trends and customer demands; you can appreciate where the market is at…Everything considered, it is likely to be in a year’s time or so.”

The airline is a dozen years away from its centenary, but its shape and future is still in the balance as the Takatso Consortium, comprising Gidon Novick, Harith and Global Aviation, have not assumed ownership or management control yet.

The sale of 51% of SAA remains imminent.

Takatso will acquire its equity in SAA for R3 billion. This values the airline at around R6 billion, value shared by taxpayers and the consortium.

Kgokolo said SAA’s current assets are valued at R10 billion. The due diligence on SAA was completed by the end of November last year and negotiations are continuing.

– news@citizen.co.za

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