Is it time to let the market decide South Africa’s airline future?

You’d have to think that the way to making a small fortune in the aviation sector in South Africa is – to adapt the old gag – to start off with a large one.

It is sobering to realise that, since the 1950s, almost 100 airlines have started up, flown a bit and then closed.

These range from ones with grandiose visions of providing cheap or luxurious – or both – intercontinental travel, or those who want to make a buck out of making flying more affordable for ordinary people.

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All over the world, running an airline is an extremely risky business, financially.

Margins are low and costs are stratospheric.

Balancing fare income with load factors is a tricky undertaking.

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Sometimes, though, there is unfair competition – and that has certainly been the case with our national carrier, South African Airways (SAA), which is seemingly not obliged to turn a profit because it is subsidised by billions in taxpayer money.

SAA can post what it calls operational profits – but that will never recoup the debt or the government cash already sunk into it.

A serious question has to be: do we need a national airline, or should the market decide who wins and who loses?

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