SAA will cancel a number of routes as part of its attempt to regain financial stability.
Briefing Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance on Friday (August 4), SAA acting CEO, Musa Zwane, said the executive committee had begun reviewing the airline’s route network, and had identified avenues that would help the airline save R900m (€57 million) per annum.
“There are a number of routes we are looking at cancelling or pulling out of, and we expect to save R900m per annum as a result of this route rationalisation,” Zwane told the committee.
At the time of publishing, SAA Spokesperson, Tlali Tlali, had not responded to requests for comment on which routes could possibly face the axe.
Zwane also announced that the executive committee had decided to take a 5% salary cut, effective September 2017. “The exco taking the salary cut is showing that we are aware the airline is facing problems and we, as the exco, are responding to that,” he said.
The Public Investment Corporation has been listed by SAA as a possible source of the approximately R13.2bn (€833 million) they will need over a five-year period, as well as for R6bn (€379 million) in 2018. However, Finance Minister Malusi Gigabahas said that bail-out options and amounts will only be disclosed in October, during the mini-budget.
