SAA after Business rescue

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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by dollar »

" Lamola said the airline would “absolutely not” be seeking further bailouts, although he insisted “the word bailout is not the right language” because the government is a shareholder in SAA and had the responsibility to recapitalise the business."

So there you have it :-) The major shareholder is shouldering it's responsibility to "recapitalise" the operation on an ongoing basis. "Bailout" is an uncomfortable word and won't be used in future. The new term is "recapitalise" and we will be hearing that from now on. I remain a bit confused as to how you manage to "capitalise" your operating expenses but I'm sure these guys know how to do it! :-)
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by snoopy »

government is a shareholder in SAA
...and the wallet of the government is the SA tax payer as we all know...but when does re-capitalizing become wasteful expenditure? And if SAA/DPE can pay out a fortune because they got sued by Americans - then why could it not pay out the R183 million owed to Mango pax , which the DPE still owes to them as owner of SAA and Mango, at the time they forced Mango into business rescue - which was its only profitable airline at the time.
:idea:

Why was it not their responsibility (DPE) to recapitalize Mango at the time? Or was their sense of responsibility still absent then?

Perception - All in the eye of the beholder ...of SA tax payer money...
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by Volo »

There are quite simply several reasons why SAA V2 will never succeed .

1. Their shareholder does not require it to yield a profit so it is able to trade unfairly on the open market .
2. It is still floundering because the state wants it there for political , social and ideological reasons .
3. Its entire purpose is founded on a racial bias supported by a flawed South African Constitution .
4. Its subservience to trade unions is already in evidence as I am told that their employment levels are already approaching 2000 employees with its miserable little slice of the market.
5. Short of massive recapitalisation it cant become a meaningful player internationally let alone domestically .
6. With the collapse of the Takatso deal it is evident this was not meant to be implemented at any stage and was only a" Smoke and mirrors" exercise at best .
7. It remains supported by an ill informed politically motivated parliament .
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by Ugly Duckling »

What ripples will follow :shock:
Dudu gone to Dudu
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by Burner »

Ugly Duckling wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2024 2:25 pm What ripples will follow :shock:
Dudu gone to Dudu
I don't think any ripples to be honest. If anything a lot of guilty parties are probably breathing a sigh of relief, as her corruption trial will now no longer take place. I'm sure she was well placed to finger point plenty of other corrupt employees who were employed during her disastrous tenure.
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by Volo »

Burner wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2024 2:37 pm
Ugly Duckling wrote: Sat Jun 15, 2024 2:25 pm What ripples will follow :shock:
Dudu gone to Dudu
I don't think any ripples to be honest. If anything a lot of guilty parties are probably breathing a sigh of relief, as her corruption trial will now no longer take place. I'm sure she was well placed to finger point plenty of other corrupt employees who were employed during her disastrous tenure.
.............................
Not least Mr Zuma who was her champion.
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by SandPiper »

Volo wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2024 10:05 am There are quite simply several reasons why SAA V2 will never succeed .

1. Their shareholder does not require it to yield a profit so it is able to trade unfairly on the open market .
2. It is still floundering because the state wants it there for political , social and ideological reasons .
3. Its entire purpose is founded on a racial bias supported by a flawed South African Constitution .
4. Its subservience to trade unions is already in evidence as I am told that their employment levels are already approaching 2000 employees with its miserable little slice of the market.
5. Short of massive recapitalisation it cant become a meaningful player internationally let alone domestically .
6. With the collapse of the Takatso deal it is evident this was not meant to be implemented at any stage and was only a" Smoke and mirrors" exercise at best .
7. It remains supported by an ill informed politically motivated parliament .
All the above reasons are exactly the ones ensuring the survival of v2.

Been there, just a different logo on the tail.
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by Burner »

SandPiper wrote: Sun Jun 16, 2024 7:52 pm
Volo wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2024 10:05 am There are quite simply several reasons why SAA V2 will never succeed .

1. Their shareholder does not require it to yield a profit so it is able to trade unfairly on the open market .
2. It is still floundering because the state wants it there for political , social and ideological reasons .
3. Its entire purpose is founded on a racial bias supported by a flawed South African Constitution .
4. Its subservience to trade unions is already in evidence as I am told that their employment levels are already approaching 2000 employees with its miserable little slice of the market.
5. Short of massive recapitalisation it cant become a meaningful player internationally let alone domestically .
6. With the collapse of the Takatso deal it is evident this was not meant to be implemented at any stage and was only a" Smoke and mirrors" exercise at best .
7. It remains supported by an ill informed politically motivated parliament .
All the above reasons are exactly the ones ensuring the survival of v2.

Been there, just a different logo on the tail.
Yes one has to chuckle... no more bailouts from the government. They're now called capital injections from the shareholders. :lol:
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by Volo »

Take a look at this - I am sure Guy won't mind this being seen here on Avcom.


BUSINESS MAVERICK
FLIGHT PLANS
Banks ‘willing’ to give SAA version 2.0 a R1bn facility
• SAA version 2.0 may not need an equity partner for now, but strategic partnership crucial for growth, says interim CEO John Lamola. (Photo: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
By Guy Leitch27 Jun 2024Follow 5
With the end of the Takatso deal, the big question is whether SAA still needs an equity partner.

Listen to this article
6 min
SAA interim CEO John Lamola says that SAA version 2.0 may now not need an equity partner.

“If we don’t get one, we can still have the airline we have now, but with a maximum of 20 aircraft. But if we want to move up to an airline with 30 to 35 new aircraft, then we will need a strategic equity partner, preferably an airline, to partner with,” said Lamola on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association’s annual general meeting in Dubai.

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As a state-owned carrier, there must be pressure to fly routes that are politically desirable but unprofitable. Lamola says he frequently gets asked: “Why not London? New York? Mumbai? China?”

He says what drives the airline’s current route strategy are the following questions: “What do we need to break even operationally? How many aircraft, flying what routes?”

SAA’s current fleet plan runs from 2022 to 2029, but the airline had to revise that after the Takatso deal fell through.

Read more in Daily Maverick: SAA privatisation deal reaches the end of the runway but fails to take off

“We are flying on our own now, with the expectation that when we start a [new] route, it must pay for itself. We will not start a route for vanity.”

Given Boeing’s ongoing troubles, would he consider buying Boeings?

“As SAA is the national carrier, we have to be friendly to both Airbus and Boeing. We cannot be beholden to one industry, in case there are, for example, sanctions against Boeing. I was in Seattle last year and everybody raised an eyebrow. But we also talked to Airbus about what we’re doing. We presented them with our roll-out strategy for the coming five years; that, for instance, we will fly to London in 2027.”

Is that still the plan? Lamola is noncommittal. “Perhaps that no longer makes sense because the competition is too fierce. We’re doing continuous research on all routes. I have business cases for Germany, London and Nairobi, which we are refreshing all the time.”

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On SAA having recently restarted its Johannesburg-Perth route, Lamola admits: “Our frequencies are terrible [too infrequent], and we need new aircraft. So we are partnering with Singapore Airlines to operate Sydney on a codeshare.”

Lamola says one of the airline’s key challenges is a skills shortage.

“We need to benchmark SAA to world standards in the quality of our management. Because of the business rescue process, we have not been able to recruit the best skills for route analysis. Fortunately, there is now technology that analyses data on how our competitors are doing on those routes, and we can extrapolate that.

“We gave Boeing and Airbus the London route to analyse and they flew in route analysis teams. In the end, we said, ‘Thanks, but we’re not ready’.”

Low-cost capital
Getting access to low-cost capital is a key input, which requires a strong balance sheet and credit record. Lamola says that the credit record of the new SAA is good because it doesn’t have any debt.

“The lessors [of aircraft] look at cash flows and at our payment record. SAA version 2.0 has never skipped one payment on our current leases, so we have a good credit record.”

Much of SAA’s balance sheet is in its property holdings.

Lamola explains: “We now have a property strategy with new leases. Additionally, we are getting paid for leasing out our Heathrow slots. The banks understand the difference between commercial property and aeronautical property. So they are willing to give us a R1-billion facility.”

“Although we don’t have debt, we need a cash buffer. If there’s another pandemic and we are grounded for six months, we must be able to pay salaries for those six months.”

Read more in Daily Maverick: SAA clings to hope that its private sector investment plan will fly

Lamola acknowledged that it would not be easy for SAA’s current revenues to fund that cash buffer.

“At the moment we still have a high cost structure because of the aircraft leases and our exposure to forex.”

SAA has been using expensive “wet” leases to hire Boeing 737-800s from Turkish Sun Express. Lamola is comfortable with this, saying, “These leases provide schedule stability and are good for our passenger loyalty programme. When you are running a scheduled airline, you have to decide if it is better to have cancelled flights or to operate flights at a loss – which we cannot afford.”

Qatar Airways recently announced that it would partner with an airline in southern Africa. When asked if that was SAA, Lamola replied: “No it’s not us. It’s a mystery – rumour has it that it’s TAAG [an Angolan state-owned airline]”.

Finally, SAA is still searching for a permanent CEO. So, has Lamola thrown his hat into the ring for that position?

“There is an automatic assumption that the incumbent will do so. But it’s a terrible job, so I’ll be happy to go back to academia.” DM

Guy Leitch is editor of SA Flyer and FlightCom magazines.

BoeingGuy LeitchInternational Air Transport AssociationJohn LamolaSAATakatso
Comments
All Comments 5

Middle aged Mike
28 June 2024 at 08:47
We need an SAA like we need the clap. So long as it exists as an SOE it will remain a high flow gravy funnel.

Lynda Tyrer
28 June 2024 at 08:58
Until this govt stops with all the freebies for politicians spouses and their children SAA will always run at a loss. That is massive lost revenue.

Paul Caiger
28 June 2024 at 09:56
“it’s a terrible job, so I’ll be happy to go back to academia.” That says it all. No-one wants to touch this ANC inspired wreck with a barge pole. SOEs are dead – wake up ANC. In Argentina they have “seen the light” and are privatizing SOEs. Admit it , communism doesn’t work . Big brother does know better. In fact he knows eff all and is actual mentally challenged. Grow up comrades and stick your hammer and sickle where they belong.

Gregory Michael Van Der Krol
28 June 2024 at 11:28
Talk about flogging a dead horse.

Pegasus B.
28 June 2024 at 15:24
Conveniently forgotten how COMAIR and maybe others were reportedly never reimbursed by SAA for ticketting services. That debt was not covered by Government. Astounding since the State itself was the principal.

“Skills shortage” indeed. It seems to be conveniently forgotten why and who together were behind why SAA now possesses little or no institutional memory? I know of two airline pilots (both South African citizens by birth and both trained and highly experienced captains with impeccable career records in South Africa) who wanted to fly for their national airline. They were snubbed despite meeting all of SAA’s flight crew requirements. One of them, then an experienced twin-turbine captain never even received as much as a curt note acknowledging receipt of their application. Having then competed internationally AND entirely on merit, both were readily recognised as commander material and hired), they serve as First Officers (Boeing 747 & Boeing 777 respectively) with an international legacy airline, earn real money and destined for command within 3 – 4 year’s.

Dudu M. revealed it all by (ignorantly) regarding airline pilots as bus drivers. It seems SAA Technical was similarly hollowed out so it’s no surprise that SAA remains desperate and floundering
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by ZX357 »

SAA resumes Codeshare with GOL airline
Africa and Brazil

Johannesburg, 1 July 2024 - The codeshare agreement between South African Airways (SAA) and Rio de Janeiro-based Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes is back in place. This codeshare agreement is open for sale and travel with immediate effect.

This is a renewal of the SAA/Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes agreement that was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

SAA’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Tebogo Tsimane said, “The reinstatement of the codeshare agreement affirms Brazil’s status as a strategically important destination for South Africa. It connects two major economies in the southern hemisphere to enable leisure tourism, and to facilitate business, networking, and trade.

The SAA/Gol agreement includes flights between Cape Town International, OR Tambo International and Galeão-Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport in Rio. It extends to domestic routes, connecting Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Gqeberha, giving Brazilian visitors seamless access to the four major economic hubs of South Africa. The agreement also makes it possible for SAA to add its designated code on more than 20 connecting Gol-operated flights in Brazil, including (but not limited to) Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte and Florianópolis.

In time, the airlines will add 60 additional Latin American destinations and many African ones to the agreement, to give travellers optimal choice and make it easier than ever to plan multi-city itineraries on a single SAA/Gol codeshare ticket.

The agreement extends to include accrual of SAA Voyager Miles and Gol Smiles.

Head of Alliances and Distribution at Gol, Mr André Gaspar says, "We are extremely pleased to reactivate this agreement with SAA and to contribute to strengthening relationships between Brazil and Africa. The partnership marks significant expansion in destination options for Gol customers. It provides access to many of Africa's most enchanting destinations and allows Gol customers to depart our main bases and reach two of the most important cities in South Africa, via Guarulhos that’s part of the Sao Paulo metro region."

“The reinstatement of the codeshare agreement with Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes affirms the return of SAA as an intercontinental service provider,” added Tsimane. “It comes six months after SAA launched direct flights into São Paulo and a few weeks after the launch of direct flights into Perth, Australia.

“SAA is providing the market with enhanced connectivity and travel options, not only domestically and continentally, but between Africa, Latin America, and Australia, too. This codeshare agreement, along with direct intercontinental flight offerings, points to SAA’s determination to connect people, businesses, and destinations to enable national, regional, and continental growth. It is an essential component of the airline’s measured and determined return to profitability.”
https://www.flysaa.com/about-us/leading ... s/newsroom
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by ZX357 »

'Domestic market isn't our priority' SAA plans big global push with new planes, destinations
South African Airways plans to increase its destinations from its hub in Johannesburg by two-thirds by the end of April as it rebuilds its business to focus on regional and international routes after a deal with an investor collapsed.

The company is aiming to add nine destinations to its existing 14 and also plans to boost the number of aircraft by 50% to 21 by March, interim Chief Executive Officer John Lamola said, adding that the South African flag carrier has the cash to fund its expansion.

“We are cash positive as a company, and we are able to survive in the next 12 to 18 months on our own,” Lamola said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Johannesburg. “Our strategic position is to differentiate ourselves as a national flag-carrier to be able to offer the country the connectivity with key investment and trading partners.”

The airline, founded in 1934, has had rely on taxpayers for years until its bankruptcy following the pandemic. A plan by the government to sell a 51% stake in the carrier was abandoned in March, forcing the company to scale back its expansion plans. While South African Airways won’t seek bailouts, it would ask for sovereign guarantees to expand over the next three years, Lamola said.

Lamola said the company could not comment on the nine new destinations, as it was commercially sensitive.

The carrier also plans to open routes to Frankfurt, Munich, London and to cities in the east coast of the US, Lamola said, though those destinations would only be considered in the year ending March, 2028.

Plans by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to sell its stake in the company to the Takatso group — made up of closely held Global Airways and private equity firm Harith General Partners — were scrapped in March. The deal would have resulted in a R3 billion cash injection for the airline.

Lamola said the carrier needs an airline partnership that could assist it in extending its reach. South African Airways is working with Kenyan Airways on a project to create a pan-African group, although it focuses on optimizing procurement and connectivity capabilities, rather than an equity injection.

“The domestic market is not our priority,” Lamola said. “Regional and international markets are our focus.”
https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/ ... s-20240704
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by Volo »

ZX357 wrote: Thu Jul 04, 2024 9:43 am 'Domestic market isn't our priority' SAA plans big global push with new planes, destinations
South African Airways plans to increase its destinations from its hub in Johannesburg by two-thirds by the end of April as it rebuilds its business to focus on regional and international routes after a deal with an investor collapsed.

The company is aiming to add nine destinations to its existing 14 and also plans to boost the number of aircraft by 50% to 21 by March, interim Chief Executive Officer John Lamola said, adding that the South African flag carrier has the cash to fund its expansion.

“We are cash positive as a company, and we are able to survive in the next 12 to 18 months on our own,” Lamola said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Johannesburg. “Our strategic position is to differentiate ourselves as a national flag-carrier to be able to offer the country the connectivity with key investment and trading partners.”

The airline, founded in 1934, has had rely on taxpayers for years until its bankruptcy following the pandemic. A plan by the government to sell a 51% stake in the carrier was abandoned in March, forcing the company to scale back its expansion plans. While South African Airways won’t seek bailouts, it would ask for sovereign guarantees to expand over the next three years, Lamola said.

Lamola said the company could not comment on the nine new destinations, as it was commercially sensitive.

The carrier also plans to open routes to Frankfurt, Munich, London and to cities in the east coast of the US, Lamola said, though those destinations would only be considered in the year ending March, 2028.

Plans by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to sell its stake in the company to the Takatso group — made up of closely held Global Airways and private equity firm Harith General Partners — were scrapped in March. The deal would have resulted in a R3 billion cash injection for the airline.

Lamola said the carrier needs an airline partnership that could assist it in extending its reach. South African Airways is working with Kenyan Airways on a project to create a pan-African group, although it focuses on optimizing procurement and connectivity capabilities, rather than an equity injection.

“The domestic market is not our priority,” Lamola said. “Regional and international markets are our focus.”
https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/ ... s-20240704
.......................................................................

I am sure that there are more than a few experts that will agree that Lamola is barking up the wrong tree in trying to jump in at the deep end with his International expansion .
The capital cost and infrastructural cost of having foreign desks and facilities must be daunting even for the well healed operators never mind the leases on global carriers probably coming at very high cost .
Why would he want to virtually ignore the local market even if the competition is strong .
I think the flying public may not be supporting his V2 as much as he had hoped .
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by Flaps Up1 »

Volo wrote: Sat Jul 06, 2024 9:43 am
ZX357 wrote: Thu Jul 04, 2024 9:43 am 'Domestic market isn't our priority' SAA plans big global push with new planes, destinations
South African Airways plans to increase its destinations from its hub in Johannesburg by two-thirds by the end of April as it rebuilds its business to focus on regional and international routes after a deal with an investor collapsed.

The company is aiming to add nine destinations to its existing 14 and also plans to boost the number of aircraft by 50% to 21 by March, interim Chief Executive Officer John Lamola said, adding that the South African flag carrier has the cash to fund its expansion.

“We are cash positive as a company, and we are able to survive in the next 12 to 18 months on our own,” Lamola said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Johannesburg. “Our strategic position is to differentiate ourselves as a national flag-carrier to be able to offer the country the connectivity with key investment and trading partners.”

The airline, founded in 1934, has had rely on taxpayers for years until its bankruptcy following the pandemic. A plan by the government to sell a 51% stake in the carrier was abandoned in March, forcing the company to scale back its expansion plans. While South African Airways won’t seek bailouts, it would ask for sovereign guarantees to expand over the next three years, Lamola said.

Lamola said the company could not comment on the nine new destinations, as it was commercially sensitive.

The carrier also plans to open routes to Frankfurt, Munich, London and to cities in the east coast of the US, Lamola said, though those destinations would only be considered in the year ending March, 2028.

Plans by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to sell its stake in the company to the Takatso group — made up of closely held Global Airways and private equity firm Harith General Partners — were scrapped in March. The deal would have resulted in a R3 billion cash injection for the airline.

Lamola said the carrier needs an airline partnership that could assist it in extending its reach. South African Airways is working with Kenyan Airways on a project to create a pan-African group, although it focuses on optimizing procurement and connectivity capabilities, rather than an equity injection.

“The domestic market is not our priority,” Lamola said. “Regional and international markets are our focus.”
https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/ ... s-20240704
.......................................................................

I am sure that there are more than a few experts that will agree that Lamola is barking up the wrong tree in trying to jump in at the deep end with his International expansion .
The capital cost and infrastructural cost of having foreign desks and facilities must be daunting even for the well healed operators never mind the leases on global carriers probably coming at very high cost .
Why would he want to virtually ignore the local market even if the competition is strong .
I think the flying public may not be supporting his V2 as much as he had hoped .
Also note he only mentions going to Europe and the USA not before March 2028. 4 years away! That’s eons in the airline industry, he will most definitely no longer be at SAA then. He’s just playing for the crowd I reckon.
Last edited by Flaps Up1 on Tue Jul 09, 2024 11:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by evanb »

Volo wrote: Sat Jul 06, 2024 9:43 am I am sure that there are more than a few experts that will agree that Lamola is barking up the wrong tree in trying to jump in at the deep end with his International expansion .
The capital cost and infrastructural cost of having foreign desks and facilities must be daunting even for the well healed operators never mind the leases on global carriers probably coming at very high cost .
Why would he want to virtually ignore the local market even if the competition is strong .
I think the flying public may not be supporting his V2 as much as he had hoped .
It's just a lot of big talk, but there's no strong strategy behind any of it. For example, they started JNB-PER but then codeshare on Singapore Airlines JNB-SIN-SYD? Surely you support your own fledgling network first? They have an interline with Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar, but if they want a single code, then surely seeking a codeshare with Virgin is likely more important than codesharing on Singapore and shifting traffic from your own metal? It's abstract, but kinda shows that there is no direction in what they're trying to do.
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Re: SAA after Business rescue

Unread post by snoopy »

Very interesting read that includes the shenanigans of SAA and what they got up to with SA tax payer money, to get to where SAA regurgitated is today.

Image

People employed by the state who abuse public funds entrusted to them by tax payers, should be...
Image
Without repercussions for these kind of shenanigans with public funds,it will just happen again and again and get worse and worse because the gig pays well and there is no real accountability, and that applies to all state "companies". Even municipalities these days want to be called "business partners"... :roll:

No wonder SA is a failing state.
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