{"id":490705,"date":"2021-05-14T15:04:46","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T13:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=490705"},"modified":"2021-05-14T15:04:46","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T13:04:46","slug":"this-is-when-the-new-saa-hopes-to-start-flying-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/490705\/this-is-when-the-new-saa-hopes-to-start-flying-again\/","title":{"rendered":"This is when the ‘new SAA’ hopes to start flying again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Embattled national carrier South African Airways aims to resume flights in July or August 2021, with the exact restart date dependent on lockdown restrictions, Reuters<\/a> <\/strong>reported.<\/p>\n

The resumption of services will also be dependent on whether the airline can resolve a pilot dispute, said chief executive Thomas Kgokolo in a briefing to parliament.<\/p>\n

“As a draft or as a proposal we are looking at July-August 2021.<\/p>\n

“However these dates come with some complexities, the issue of the Covid-19 is something that we still need to consider … and there is a complex matter that we are dealing with of pilots as well,” he said.<\/p>\n

SAA has been unprofitable for almost a decade, surviving on state bailouts and government debt guarantees, and was placed under administration a year ago.<\/p>\n

The carrier has been lying dormant since March 2020, when the fleet was grounded due to travel bans to contain the Covid-19 coronavirus.<\/p>\n

The airline exited administration in late April after receiving R7.8 billion from the government,< However, until now it has not committed to a firm date to recommence operations.<\/p>\n

Speaking in an interview<\/a> <\/strong>with the SABC at the end of April,\u00a0 Kgokolo acknowledged the difficulties in restarting the airline during a global pandemic which has caused untold damage to the airline sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur view is that we are much smaller than before, so we are going to be spending a lot of time (as part of) our restart plan looking at operational efficiency from a cost perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will also be looking at the type of aircraft we use going forward to ensure that they are fuel-efficient. We will also (launch) a decent marketing campaign to ensure that as we come back online our loyal customers can use us again.<\/p>\n

Kgokolo said that this restart will not be easy and that the new SAA will not do things the same way it did in the past.<\/p>\n

He said that some of the immediate concerns which the restart plan will address include:<\/p>\n