South African Airways was once the second largest airline in Africa. But since 2011 she had to rely on government aid. Finally, a rescue procedure followed. Now a route has been started again.
After a month-long rescue procedure, the badly battered South African Airways (SAA) flew again for the first time in 18 months.
In June, the then insolvent airline, which is a Lufthansa partner in the Star Alliance, was restructured and partially privatized. The domestic route Johannesburg-Cape Town was resumed on Thursday. In addition, SAA wants to establish regional connections to Ghana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo next week, it said.
SAA, once the second largest airline in Africa after Ethiopian Airlines, made a profit for the last time in 2011 and has been reliant on state aid and guarantees since then. The Takatso consortium, which launched the domestic airline Lift at the end of last year, has been a 51 percent majority shareholder since June, while the state still holds 49 percent of the shares. In the rescue plan of the administrators, a sum of 10.1 billion rand (583 million euros) was deemed necessary for a successful realignment.
The airline’s fleet has shrunk from 46 to six planes; Hundreds of jobs have been cut. The SAA low-cost airline subsidiary Mango remains on the ground and is in bankruptcy proceedings.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
