Do we need SAA at all?

How do you make a small fortune out of the airline business? Start with a large one. That’s an old gag but still holds true: The aviation sector is one of the toughest on the planet.

South African Airways (SAA) was always going to struggle to be a true national flag carrier, because it is an “end of hemisphere” airline far from global markets. Now, though, after decades of looting by ANC cadres, it faces a struggle merely to survive in what is essentially a domestic market plus a few regional routes.

ALSO READ: Derek Hanekom appointed new SAA interim chair

The local sector has seen airlines like Comair (with its British Airways franchise), kulula and Mango all crash and burn in the past few years.

SAA wallows along thanks to huge government bailouts and the seeming promise that a private sector takeover will save it. Seeming? Yes, because the deal has yet to come to fruition and may now never happen, if the new SAA board – headed by politicians and allies of President Cyril Ramaphosa – is anything to go by.

ALSO READ: SAA revival a ‘pie in the sky’

Having comrades like Derek Hanekom heading SAA’s board might indicate the ANC realises privatisation is a pipe dream…meaning more bailout pain for taxpayers. The real question is: Do we need SAA at all?