Finance Minister: SAA should be shut down

[Hogpatrol]

Many empty seats on my last round tripper to Joburg from Dulles last April/May.


SAA 'should be shut down', says Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46070949

 

[johnnyblues]

That’s not good news, we all know they are not profitable but they are also one of the few carriers that will accept hunting trophies.

 

[CAustin]

There are many others that could not operate if not for governments bailing them out!

 

[ve7poi]

Last time I tried to ship trophies Delta said no to any shipment containing any of the big 5

If they have changed good because I changed airlines to fly to Africa 3 trips ago

 

[Dox]

Hi Guys,

This handle is my younger brother's account, but anyway, I work at the auditor general here in SA and the reality is SAA is riddled with alleged corruption and mismanagement.
The government has bailed them out on more than a few occasions.
The thing is, SA is not a rich enough country to keep absorbing the billions lost every year and it has started hitting the tax payer.
I think SAA needs to just look at which routes are profitable for them and downsize the entity in that regard. Once they consolidate that they can re-introduce routes again.

Just my two cents..

 

[PeteG]

Hi Guys,

This handle is my younger brother's account, but anyway, I work at the auditor general here in SA and the reality is SAA is riddled with alleged corruption and mismanagement.
The government has bailed them out on more than a few occasions.
The thing is, SA is not a rich enough country to keep absorbing the billions lost every year and it has started hitting the tax payer.
I think SAA needs to just look at which routes are profitable for them and downsize the entity in that regard. Once they consolidate that they can re-introduce routes again.

Just my two cents..

Do you think it is a factor of the routes or the style and cost of management??
I fly on SAA from Ndola to Jhb often, this flight is more than 90% full most days and there are 2(?) flights per day. Business class is usually empty though.
I’m sure that saa could be run profitably with correct management.
Perhaps I read wrong, but did saa top management still receive bonuses in these last few years whilst hoping for bail out money from the government??

 

[Hogpatrol]

Hi Guys,

This handle is my younger brother's account, but anyway, I work at the auditor general here in SA and the reality is SAA is riddled with alleged corruption and mismanagement.
The government has bailed them out on more than a few occasions.
The thing is, SA is not a rich enough country to keep absorbing the billions lost every year and it has started hitting the tax payer.
I think SAA needs to just look at which routes are profitable for them and downsize the entity in that regard. Once they consolidate that they can re-introduce routes again.

Just my two cents..

Last trip from RSA, stopped in Dakar. Was told I had to change seats. My seat for the remaining leg had been resold. WTF is up with that? Yes, I'd say mismanagement is ONE of their problems. As for corruption? Well, they are a black African government entity.

 

[Arctic97]

Hate to see news like this because it will drive even more business away, just from the fear factor. Lets face it, when saddled with decision of what set of airline tickets to purchase for next July's hunt, how many of us would pick SAA over a different carrier after reading this? Yep, I get that it will probably not really affect us for the next year, but are you going to risk loosing your flight to your hunt a month or two beforehand, and then start shopping for a new seat?? I can tell you right now, I won't. Easier to leave SAA off the potential list and book elsewhere until the dust settles. Too bad, because just that little bit of increased demand directed toward the other airlines is going to allow them to bump their prices up......It may also cause seats on SAA to become less costly and more available for the brave though!

 

[sestoppelman]

Just about every flight I have ever taken with SAA was full or nearly so. Were times when a half empty plane would have looked real good.

 

[Dox]

So many factors involved here
Employees are getting paid high salaries and top management...well...
Some flights may be full because they just need to sell tickets and may not recover on each passenger.

Also with strikes etc the employees are not efficient and lost baggage and stolen items also play a role
The finance minister is now refusing bailouts I believe.

SAA will need strong management to turn things around and i am not sure with political appointments this can be achieved.

The planes I believe are also old so you might fall from the sky...lol

Anyways lets hope for us South Africans something good can happen to SAA