Home

SAA remains on track with restructuring plans

SAA plane
Reading Time: 2 minutes

South African Airways (SAA) says it remains on track with its turnaround and restructuring plans despite its current challenges.

This will see major changes in how procurement will be done and also the company’s structure.

The airline is saddled with R20 billion debt.

The national carrier says they are also filling key posts.

Board member, Martin Kingston says, “Corruption and malaise have been a fundamental tax of the airline over many years and it has not been appropriately addressed. The board has created a subcommittee that is going back in time to address all issues of corruption.”

Kingston adds, “On the routes that we operate, we are already beginning to see the benefits of those flow through. And on the organisational structure, it is well known that we are going through an organisational design that will make sure that we have the right structure.”

He says the airline’s urgent mandate is to give the banks confidence that they can restructure their current debt.

“The lenders, if they want to lend further capital, they have to be assured of the fact that their existing exposure if it is restructured, it is repaid, when it’s supposed to be repaid. At the moment the R3.5 (billion) and the R9.2 (billion) is a longer term loan and the R3.5 (billion) was a bridge facility to be repaid at the end of July. We are in discussions with the lenders about repaying the R3.5 (billion) and extending the R9.2 (billion) over a protracted period of time.”

Click below to watch SAA’s media briefing :

Author

MOST READ