MF - I heard murmurs earlier this year that SAA were a possible target for a takeover bid ... I'm not certain if anything came of this - or whether any of the western airlines were sufficiently interested to pursue the issue.

Late last year, because of the Springboks tour, all the BA flights out of Jo'burg were full, and I ended up flying back to London in SAA economy. (I didn't get a chance to sample SAA business, which I hope was better, because by the time I tried to make a reservation the front of the plane had been sold out to well-heeled rugby fans)

The check-in agent put me in the smoking section without even asking my preference (I'm a NON-SMOKER!!), where I was seated next to a group of very drunk, very excited rugby fans from the Orange Free State who were all chain smokers. After several complaints to the flight attendants I was finally moved next to a mother with a 3-month old baby. The aeroplane was shabby, the food was mediocre at best, and the service ranged from slow to absent. Needless to say I'm not in a rush to sample SAA's service again.

If SAA want to be accepted as part of a major international airline alliance they are going to have to improve their standards enormously.