After speculation over which southern African airline Qatar Airways would buy, Prof. John Lamola, Interim CEO of SAA, has confirmed that it isn’t SAA.
Lamola was speaking at the African Aviation Summit on Wednesday, May 22. Following the carrier’s private equity deal with the Takatso Consortium, which fell through in March, Lamola highlighted some of the qualities that the Board of SAA was looking for in a potential strategic partner.
“We are South Africa’s national carrier… and we’re looking for a partner that will respect the mission of SAA,” said Lamola, adding that SAA’s strategy was aligned with the current National Development Plan.
The second characteristic of any potential equity partner, explained Lamola, was a capital injection.
“SAA requires a financial injection to recapitalise SAA in its second phase, where we will be moving into the modernisation of our fleet in line with the global requirements of decarbonisation,” he said.
In addition to…