[openfly]

In the Cape Times Business section on tue it was announced that Comair/BA had doubled its profits in the last year and its shares had jumped by 8%.

In today’s Thur Cape Times SAA has demanded another R7.2billion in subsidies to stay afloat….having already received handouts of R17.2billion over the last few months. On the midday news it was announced that SAA have already received the money.

I flew from Durban to CT in Comairs upgraded…excellent…Club cabin. This cabin was full of SA government ministers and their cling-ons….on BA rather than SAA! According to the Purser this is a normal situation on their flights now. He suggested that it might be because BA/Comair serve Johnny Walker Black Label….!!

[SimonS1]

Not to mention the $20m bailout of SA Express too.

I wonder if the clowns have to pay for their tickets on Comair. Or at least the government has to actually pay for the tickets.

I saw a couple of days ago that the government has decided to progress discussions on the merger of SAA, SAX and Mango. Good luck to all concerned.

South African Mega Merger: Mango, SA Express & South African Airways

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openfly

[openfly]

I suppose with all three airlines merged it means that there is only one lot of corruption to carry out, instead of the onerous business of three lots!

[capetonianm]

It’s a massive black hole, and getting deeper and blacker every day.

https://www.fin24.com/Companies/Industrial/fixing-saa-means-combatting-organised-crime-syndicate-former-prosecutions-boss-20190918

https://www.fin24.com/Companies/Industrial/saa-to-get-r55bn-capital-injection-by-end-september-20190918

Responding to a question about whether SAA is still salvageable, executive director Akhter Moosa told the committee that ultimately it is up to the shareholder – namely government – to decide to liquidate the airline; however, shutting down the entity will come at a “staggering” cost.

Neatly sidestepping the fact that the cost of keeping it running has been, and will continue to be, ‘staggering’. Still, only taxpayers’ so who cares?

*****Edited by Business Traveller.*****

[SimonS1]

And guess what. SAA is already bleating that the latest bail out is not enough.

Even by joke airline standards it’s pretty feeble.

South African Airways Says Latest Cash Injection Is Not Enough

[LuganoPirate]

Yes, the ministers do have to pay for their travel, but it is reimbursed. They are supposed to give precedence to SAA etc unless there is a good reason to fly BA/Kulula, such as scheduling or routes. However, they usually claim the unreliability of SA Express as a reason and that is accepted as a valid reason. A friend of mine who is a senior captain with SAA flies from George to JNB with Kalula on orders from his manager, as SA Express are too unreliable and they can’t risk him not being in position for his onward flight!!!

The government of course has an account with SAA, and of course they rarely settle the bill. Comair will not fly them until they have paid for their ticket. Very sensible but you almost could not make this up!!

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capetonianm, openfly

[capetonianm]

It is easy to understand why ‘someone’ (anonymous as usual) found my post (965105) above ‘inappropriate’.

When people have no valid argument, they use the ‘racism’ one.

I would suggest that the person who marked my comment as inappropriate might do a little investigation into the recent tragic history of SAA and many other SEOs since 1994, and the demographic pattern of the tax base in South Africa.

It’s always easier to make an accusation than to confront the ugly truth after looking into some facts.

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ImissConcorde, Locod190, cwoodward, biguli76, openfly

[LuganoPirate]

Probably because you used the phrase “Black Hole” Capetonian 😉 😉

If that was the reason, whoever marked it inappropriate should perhaps be told that the phrase “Black Hole” is used by Africans all over the continent and has no racial connotation at all.

“It supposedly derived from a prison cell or area of confinement, especially that which is in notoriously poor or hostile condition. Refers specifically to the so-called “Black Hole of Calcutta,” a prison in West Bengal where, in 1756, 146 Europeans were said to have been imprisoned and all but 23 suffocated overnight.”

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capetonianm

[capetonianm]

Thanks, LP.

In this context, my use of the term ‘black hole’ refers to money or other assets simply disappearing without trace or accountability, which is what has happened to vast sums of ZA taxpayers’ money which has been diverted into the hands and bank accounts of crooks, from the ex-president and his cronies downwards. That someone has chosen to find the term offensive doesn’t surprise me.

What does surprise me is that more people aren’t aware of, and disturbed by, the level of corruption and fraud at government level.

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cwoodward, Johnnyg, LuganoPirate, openfly

[BA789]

An interesting article for those interested in South African aviation:

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/government/320901-concerns-over-rookie-saa-plane-inspectors.html

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LuganoPirate

[capetonianm]

https://www.fin24.com/Companies/Industrial/saa-pilots-threaten-first-ever-strike-20190926
The South African Airways Pilots’ Association says that a majority of its members are in favour of going on strike to force change within the struggling national flag carrier.

If this were to force a complete rethink about why SAA is such a massive drain on the economy, and result in new management, it could be a very positive event.

But then again, pigs might fly ……..

[capetonianm]

https://www.businesslive.co.za/fm/opinion/between-the-chains/2019-09-26-sikonathi-mantshantsha-eating-saas-lunch/

Eating SAA’s lunch
SAA and its group companies have been in steady decline since around 1994, when the ANC came to power. That steady decline has turned into a free-fall over the past 10 years

[cwoodward]

On the subject of African aviation in general I found this piece interesting:

It looks as though there is finally some all-be-it slow progress towards joining up the dots in Africa.

[capetonianm]

It will never happen. If the UK parliament can’t agree on a Brexit strategy, how can diverse African nations achieve any sort of consensus or unity?

Someone tried this before (and it wasn’t on 1st. April.

Finger-of-God

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openfly

[capetonianm]

“Embattled South African Airways (SAA) has appointed key executives to help ease the airline’s challenges.”

I wonder where they pulled them from at such short notice. I suspect they will just be more useless political appointees with no relevant knowledge or experience, just more snouts in the trough as the airline sinks deeper into debt before the next bailout.

Executives appointed to assist SAA turnaround ahead of strike threat

The airline, reportedly ‘disappointed’ by pilots wanting to strike, says executives have been appointed to assist the airline’s current challenges.

Embattled South African Airways (SAA) has appointed key executives to help ease the airline’s challenges.

SABC News reports that the move is in response to the most recent strike threat by the South African Airways Pilots Association (SAAPA).

The airline reportedly expressed “disappointment” at the SAAPA strike threat, citing it as an action that contradicts “meaningful engagement and progress” attempts by the airline, and that a strike would further damage the airline’s “commercial interests”.

SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali confirmed to SABC News that CEOs have been appointed to Mango airlines and SAA Technical, in addition to the executives being appointed to “key critical positions”.

The South African Airways Pilots’ Association (SAAPA) began the process of canvassing its members on their perception of management at South African Airways (SAA) in June this year. Damning figures reveal that 91% of pilots said operations management was “poor” to “extremely poor”, 96% were in favour of taking a “proactive stand” to force change at the airline and 90% of respondents were in favour of engaging in protected industrial action to enforce a higher standard within SAA.

SAAPA claims the vast majority of recent appointments are in an acting capacity reminiscent of the Dudu Myeni era, where appointments were made based on allegiances instead of skills and experience. It also claims SAA management and the board have failed repeatedly to take any of a multitude of promised actions.

If strike action were to take place, it would be the first time in SAA’s 80-year history.

[Author]

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