At the Thursday night launch function of SAA’s reintroduced flights (thrice weekly) between Johannesburg and Perth, Chairperson of the interim board of SAA, Derek Hanekom, used the opportunity to dispel notions that the carrier was still in a position of precarious financial instability.
Speaking at the function, held at the Four Seasons Westcliff Hotel, Hanekom said the board had been forced to shelve certain plans tabled for a more expansive and ambitious re-emergence, but those plans had been premised on the R3 billion (€148.8m) cash injection, which was no longer going to come. He was referring to the collapse of the Takatso Consortium deal in which Takatso was to buy 51% of the national carrier.
Deal or no deal, SAA has in the meanwhile gone ahead with the reinstatement of a second intercontinental flight after last October’s restart of flights to São Paulo. Hanekom said this had been achieved after careful consideration by the board.
“We are confident that we are…