FILE PHOTO: Preparations are underway for national carrier, SAA, to take to the skies again after being grounded for over a year. PICTURE: Business Day
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0 JOHANNESBURG: SAA will resume flights on Thursday, after being grounded for over a year due to business rescue.
South African Airways will be operating after months of not being available due to financial constraints.
The airline has a new business plan and is confident that it will be back on top in a few months although it has to make excessive changes it is excited to be back.
Starting on Thursday flights are expected to operate between Johannesburg and Cape Town and from 27 September, the airline will be flying to African capitals Accra, Kinshasa, Harare, Lusaka, and Maputo.
The airline has been forced to retrench staff members and reduces their aircraft in order to operate successfully. It can no longer rely on the government’s financial assistance.
Fikile Mhlontlo, SAA interim Chief Financial Officer said that “Covid-19 has made things hard because travel patterns are challenging. They will be tested as they fly to see if they can cope with this new strategy. They are starting small, it’s a new challenge.”
They have about 80% capacity of the next booked flights because Mango is not flying at the moment due to a similar predicament. The long weekend is also working to their advantage.
SAA is confident that they will recover all they have lost and return to the top and win the hearts of their previous customers. SAA has had to let go of several aircraft and it’s unclear where the state-owned airline will find money to buy more planes.
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