SAA needs another five years to turn itself around, according to Chairwoman Dudu Myeni.
The losses the airline sustained have narrowed from R5.6 billion in the 2014-15 financial year to R1.5 billion in 2015-16. Revenue was flat at R30.4 billion. The airline remains highly indebted and spent R861 million on interest in the past year alone.
The airline also has negative shareholder’s equity of R10 billion. “Once we have finalised the short-term turnaround plan, we will be engaging with our shareholder on how to fix this,” says Deputy Chairperson, Tryphosa Ramano.